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84 Bridge Street
ACCORD Freedom Trail |
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Inscription. Trinity United
Methodist Church is the oldest congregation in historic Lincolnville and one
of the oldest Protestant congregations in Florida. Its origins date to the
early American period, in the 1820s, when a Methodist missionary came to St.
Augustine and baptized both blacks and whites.
Two earlier church buildings, on Charlotte Street and on St. George Street, housed integrated groups until the Civil War, when the whites withdrew and the congregation became all black. In 1905 the whites tried to reclaim the coquina church on St. George Street. An agreement was reached to sell that building and divide the money, giving rise to the First Methodist Church for whites and Trinity for blacks. This site on Bridge Street had been an orange grove owned by a free black man named Philip Edinboro under both Spanish Colonial and American Territorial rule. The church acquired it from Ward G. Foster, founder of the famous "Ask Mr. Foster" travel agency. They met in the Foster house, at first, then in 1912 broke ground for the current church building, which was completed in 1913 by contractor S. Clark Edminster. It is one of the great architectural landmarks of the city and has been included on the annual tour of historic churches. During the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Trinity was one of the main churches
where rallies were held, in preparation for marches downtown
to protest racial discrimination. When marchers were cursed and had bottles
thrown at them in the downtown plaza, they made their way back to Trinity for
sanctuary. Their courage and determination impressed the world and led to the
passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.
This Historical Marker presented this 2nd day of July, 2008 by: Northrop Grumman Erected 2008 by The 40th ACCORD, Inc. Location. 29° 53.348′ N, 81° 18.86′ W. Marker is in St. Augustine, Florida, in Saint Johns County. Marker is on Bridge Street. .jpg) |
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