| Grace United Methodist Church St. Augustine, Florida |
| The church was started in 1881 by George L Atkins and Sons hotel proprietors from Asbury Park NJ. They came to St. Augustine and purchased the old Florida house. At that time, there was no Methodist Church serving white people in town. The church was organized in the fall of 1881 in the Florida House Liberty Hall in the Governor’s house. The first pastor was Rev. Samuel D. Payne. For a while they met at the Black Methodist Church on St. George Street in the mornings while the black church met in the afternoons. The building of the original church, Olivet Methodist, was located on the present site of the Alcazar Hotel at the corner of Tolomato and King.. In 1888 Flagler made an offer to build a new church and parsonage. On the exchange of land from Flagler the offer was accepted and Carrere and Hastings designed the Spanish Renaissance poured concrete building and McGuire and McDonald built it at a cost of $85,000. The terra cotta work on the building includes flumes, griffins, and fish swimming in rippling water. Of course, the two striking connections to the Ponce de Leon Hotel are the cherub on the pulpit and the chandelier that resembles the old chandelier from the Ponce de Leon dining room. On January 1, 1888 the first services were held in Grace Methodist Episcopal Church. The Pastor, Reverend Charles C. McLean and his family occupied the parsonage the previous month. On December 29, 1886 the church voted on the name Grace Episcopal Methodist Church. Dr. McLean and his family moved into the new parsonage in December 1887. Bishop Mallalieu dedicated the church on January 15 |
| Below 1888 picture of Grace Source: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Historic American Buildings Survey or Historic American Engineering Record, Reproduction Number (Ex:"HABS,ILL,16-CHIG,33-2") |
| Inside view (Note Ponce de Leon cherobs over pulpit.) Source: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Historic American Buildings Survey or Historic American Engineering Record, Reproduction Number (Ex:"HABS,ILL,16-CHIG,33-2") |