The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.
John 1:9
The town of High Springs had officially come to be in 1888 as people were being drawn to the community with the recent addition of the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway. Churches began to spring up and the Presbyterians were among the first.
First Presbyterian Church High Springs was officially organized by the Presbytery of Suwanee at their meeting in Palatka on April 7-9, 1897. The founding pastor, the Rev. H. H. Newman, started the congregation with 18 members, one deacon and one ruling elder.
The church's building process is notable, in that all the sand used in the cement for the building was brought in from Mikesville, and the lumber was brought from the mill at O'Leno. It held its first service in the new building in 1899.
By the early 1900's the church closed in the bellfry after pigeons became a bit of a problem. The area immediately under the belfy was where the Sunday School met every week. Things were primitive as there was no running water, bathroom or even an outhouse; that would all come later. When fires struck High Springs the church was spared however the manse was not as fortunate, being consumed along with all of the early church records.
As the community and the church grew, changes were made to the building. In 1947 a major renovation was conducted where the rostrum was moved to the sanctuary's north side, and the two rows of pews for the congregation were situated in the south. The two entrances were closed in with one main entrance which is the way the church looks today. New Romanesque windows were installed and a two story addition was built on the church's east side, giving the congregation much needed space for a kitchen, bathroom and Sunday School rooms. While gas space heaters were installed, air conditioning was still a dream for the future (that would not happen until 1966).
In 1981 the church once again expanded by building a Youth Development Center (YDC). This would allow the kitchen to be converted into an office as the YDC now housed the kitchen. The new building gave ample space for dinners, classrooms, and more.
Over the years normal revonations and repairs have been made with the most recent being the replacement of the roof with a metal roof that is much like what would have been on most buildings of High Springs when the church opened in 1897.
During the COVID pandemic of 2020 the church was forced to leave the building for a period and rely on worship over the Internet. This did not stop our church family from worship nor did it stop our ministry. When it was safe to return to in person worship, we returned to our lovely building where we could once again be a family worshipping together.
There is an adage in the Reformed (Presbyterian) tradition: "Reformed and always reforming in accordance to the Word of God." We have no doubt that our church building and family will have changes in the future, but our hope is that we can honor our past as we serve God through Christ in the present and well into the future.
Here are some words of hope and encouragement for those of us who are concerned about the survival of small churches like ours.
Our Little Church.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [365.8 KB]
Print 