ABOUT THE HISTORIC DISTRICT:
The Lincolnville Historic District (1870-1930) includes 688 buildings, 548 of historical interest. Wood Vernacular, Mediterranean Revival, and Bungalow architectural styles predominate. All contributing structures were built before 1930. The District grew from a small black settlement founded there after the Civil War. Black builders designed and built many of the buildings.
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ABOUT THE CHURCH:
"The Church of St. Benedict the Moor located on Central Avenue (now Martin Luther King Avenue), celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 1936. Before its erection, the Negro Catholics received necessary ministration from the Cathedral Clergy and the Good Sisters of St. Joseph. This was before the arrival of the Josephite Fathers in 1914; a few folks still living recall the period immediately following the Ware Between the States with high praise for the spiritual attention of the priests and frequently refer to Bishops Verot, Moore and the Saintly Father Clavreul.
In 1890 the property on Central Avenue was deeded to Bishop Moore by Mlle. Stella Dumas, an elderly French lady who came from Charleston, S.C. The Bishop’s plan was to erect a church, school and other buildings whose income would support a resident priest. The school was erected 1898 at a cost of seven thousand, five hundred ($7,500) dollars, Five thousand ($5,000) being donated by Mother Catherine Drexel (now Saint). It is still being used and many converts have emerged from it to the church and it may rightly be called the Nursery of St. Benedict Church.
The cornerstone of St. Benedict was laid by the Most Reverend Bishop William J. Kenney and the actual construction was under the then Rector of the Cathedral, the lamented Bishop Maurice P. Foley. He was appointed Bishop of Tuguegaro and was on his way to the Philippines when the church was dedicated, February 5, 1911, by the Most Reverend Bishop W. J. Kenney. From then until 1814, it was a mission in charge of the Cathedral Clergy.
In 1914, Most Reverend Michal J. Curley, Bishop of St. Augustine invited the Josephite Fathers to take charge of St. Benedict, but Archbishop Curley did not cease his activities with the Negro Catholics and as Bishop of St. Augustine kept us his interest in the people.
The Most Reverend Bishop Patrick Barry who had been assistant at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Jacksonville took charge of the See of St. Augustine and for fourteen years was a true and loyal friend of St. Benedict and the members now consider him a Spiritual Father in a real and true sense.
The first rector of St. Benedict was Father James B. Albert, S. S. J., whose work still bears fruit in St. Augustine. In 1916, Rev. John Lyons was appointed pastor and labored zealously until 1920 when he passed during the “flu” epidemic. In 1920 Reverend Francis L. Linton, S. S. J., was appointed pastor and served until 1924; during his pastorate, he erected the bell tower, placed and stained the glass windows. In August 1924, the late lamented Father Edward A. Knight became pastor and a great sadness fell on the church when he left St. Augustine to go North on a well-earned vacation and met a tragic automobile accident. He did much to beautify the church and improve the parish buildings. During Father Knight’s pastorage, he erected St. Joseph’s Mission in West St. Augustine for the convenience of the Catholics who live in West St. Augustine. Mass is held there once each week, but many of the parishioners worship at St. Benedict, also. This mission is now about seven years old and is under Father Blasius.
The present rector, whose jurisdiction is solely over the Negro Catholics, Reverend Edward J. Blasius, S. S., was appointed September 1, 1931. He testifies to the loyalty of his flock during the years of the depression and although having met with many setbacks they have always been ready to make sacrifices for St. Benedict. He is assured of their sympathetic understanding and co-operation.
St. Benedict the Moor has a membership of three or four hundred people. Some of these members were originally connected with the Cathedral, and when the membership became so large, the Bishop was petitioned and permission was given to erect a Negro Catholic Church.
Many of the parishioners were servants in the homes of the early Spanish Settlers whose faith was Catholic; they thus took the faith of their masters as they were taken to church by them – others have emerged from the Catholic Schools; some dissatisfied with the laws, taxes and rulings of the Protestant Churches.
Many of the older Catholics and those who live near, now worship at the Cathedral just as they did before the Negro Church was established. Hundreds of whites worship at the Negro Catholic Church each week."
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And finally, an historical marker at the site provides the following information:
"This block of property owned by the Catholic Church contains three historic buildings that embody an important part of African American heritage of St. Augustine. It was part of Yallaha orange grove plantation before the Civil War and was conveyed to the church by the Dumas family in 1890. The first building was constructed in 1898 was the school, originally called St. Cecilia, later St. Benedict. It is the oldest surviving brick schoolhouse in St. Augustine. With a tower and original wraparound porch, it was a landmark of Victorian architecture. It was the gift of Mother Katharine Drexel (1858-1955), a wealthy Philadelphia heiress who founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People and established more than 60 parochial schools around the country. On October 1, 2000, Pope John Paul II named Mother Drexel a saint, and two St. Augustinians attended the canonization ceremony at the Vatican. The Sisters of St. Joseph, a teaching order that was brought here in 1866, operated St. Benedict School. They were involved in a celebrated civil rights case when, on Easter Sunday 1916, three of the nuns - Sisters Mary Thomasine Hehir, Mary Scholastica Sullivan, and Mary Beningus Cameron - were arrested for violating a 1913 passed Florida law that made it a criminal offense for whites to teach in a black school. They were released when a judge ruled the law did not apply to private schools. After serving many generations of students (of several religions) from kindergarten through eighth grade, St. Benedict School was closed in 1964 when local Catholic schools were integrated. St. Benedict the Moor Church, on the north end of the property, was begun in 1909 and completed in 1911. It was designed by the Savannah architects Robinson and Reidy, who designed Orange Street School at the same time. The church was named for a Sicilian friar (1526-1589) who was known as The Holy Negro for his charitable work and canonized in 1807. The use of his name here had earlier roots in the St. Benedict Benevolent Society, begun before the Civil War and incorporated in 1872 by St. Augustine's black Catholics. The red brick rectory building between the church and the school was constructed in 1915, and for many years housed the Josephite Fathers out of Baltimore who pastored here. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visited the rectory in 1964."