"St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church was one of the first churches build after the great storm of 1896, and is today the oldest church standing in High Springs with continuous services. The church property, two blocks from the center of town, was deeded to the Protestant Episcopal Church on June 23, 1885, by George E. Foster.
Facing NW 2nd Street, the church looks much like other churches of the 1895 – 1900 era, painted white on the outside, with stunned walls and open cathedral ceiling on the inside.
St. Bartholomew’s was build in the Carpenter Gothic style designed and popularized by Richard Upjohn, an English architect who came to the United States in the early 1800’s and specialized in the design of rural churches. The floor plan consist of a nave and transept, symbolizing the Cross of Calvary. The open ceiling with beams in view is made like that of an inverted ship. The tall windows along the sides and the front of the church in the nave were originally made of blown, wavy glass.
On September 29, 1896, a hurricane roared in from the Gulf of Mexico near Cedar Key, spawning a tornado which severely damaged the City of High Springs and destroyed many stores, homes, and churches.
English workmen were brought to High Springs to work on the railroad and these men, together with townspeople, gathered after work hours and in their free time to cut and hew timbers from storm-toppled pine trees. Those timbers were used to construct the church, pews, altar rails, and altar.
The women prepared and carried the men’s suppers to them at the work site so the men could work through the daylight hours, until darkness forced them to stop. The building housing St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church was valued $365.00 upon completion.
Following a hurricane which almost blew the building over, steel rods were placed across the nave and a small Sacristy was built joining the church at the transept to shore up the church and balance the building.
The two stained glass windows at the altar tilt into the church when open. These were given in memory of Mr. and Mrs. H.R. Dear by the Dear family. The Dear family presented the windows to the church in the late 1930’s. The family came to High Springs from England when Mr. Dear was given the executive position at Loncala Phosphate.
The large window of Christ over the altar was taken from the scene of the Lord’s Supper and was given in memory of the Vaughns by the Vaughn family in 1963. It was crafted and installed by German artists.
Many of the altar hangings presently used in the church were crocheted by the Vaughn’s daughter, Margaret Hall who also made many of the linens.
Heating and cooling of St. Bartholomew’s was for many, many years dependent on the weather. There was a small wood stove to the left of the entrance during the early years which provided heat in the winter. During the summer, windows were pushed up and the breeze cooled the congregation.
The Reverend George Gilmour was probably the first priest to hold Episcopal services in High Springs. Nine communicants were worshiping with him in January 1895.
Two years later, in the just-completed building, the congregation numbered fifty-seven, of whom twenty-seven had been confirmed."
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