The Church was established in 1837 according to the Conference records. Services at this time were held in the homes of the residents, many of them plantation owners.
According to page 52 of Jerry H. Shofner's book, History of Jefferson County, "a Methodist church in existence at Waukeenah in 1828, was the earliest Methodist house of worship in Jefferson County." It is not clear just when they began to have regular services by resident pastors. They had irregular visits by various ministers and services conducted by lay people for a few years. Transitory ministers held church services frequently in private homes in the late 1820sand early 1830s. In February 1828 most of the Waukeenah area residents met at John Gamble's plantation home to hear a Mr. Williston preach before he left for St. Augustine. In May 1828, James Gadsden's brother, Christopher, a South Carolina minister, held services at Gadsden's plantation. This is the same James Gadsden that served in the military under Andrew Jackson. He was a Lieutenant when he was ordered to build a fort on the Apalachicola River. Jackson named it Fort Gadsden in honor of the young Lieutenant. He later became Colonel Gadsden. Ken and I had the pleasure of visiting Fort Gadsden back in April.
On September 24, 1853, Maria E. Ulmer, widow of Charles Tullis Ulmer, deeded to the trustees of the Methodist Church in Waukeenah, an acre of land, upon which a large frame Building was erected for their place of worship. A cemetery was laid out on two acres of land that had been acquired from Alexander and Silety Jernigan on August 26, 1841. The parsonage was built on the St. Augustine road and the preacher in charge filled appointments at a number of stations in the eastern and southern portions of the county. In the late 1880s the site of the church and parsonage was moved to the Pinhook road (now highway 259). The construction of the third church was completed in 1960. The first service was held on September 11, 1960. The construction of the third parsonage was completed in 1974 and was dedicated on February 3, 1974.
On page 54 of Shofner's book he wrote," The Methodist Church was more fortunate than some of the other denominations in establishing their churches. The Waukeenah church remained and grew during the territorial period. As the territorial period ended, Methodism was well established. A Florida Methodist Conference was created in 1842."
The first church:
In 1853, land was donated to the Waukeenah Methodist Episcopal Church (now the Waukeenah United Methodist Church) at the site of the present cemetery by Maria E. Ulmer, widow of Charles Tullis Ulmer. This land became the site of our first church sanctuary. Maria Ulmer was the Great Grandmother of the late Gladys Russell Walker of Lamont. Some of you may remember Mrs. Gladys Walker. She was a very active member of the Lamont Methodist Church which was on the Waukeenah Circuit. Gladys' husband was Dr. William Henry Walker.
The first church building was built by slaves and was made of hewed logs fitted closely together. The windows were only shutters, but they were thick and sturdy, probably, more for protection than anything else. The men took their muzzle-loading guns with them to Church and armed guards were posted outside the building to prevent a surprise attack from Indians. At this time, the Indian War was over and most of the Indians had been removed but many were still around and some had returned.
The first seats were also made of logs with the top hewed smooth. After a sawmill was located near the St. Marks River, wooden benches were made from lumber. At that time, logs were floated down the river to the mill and lumber was hauled by ox carts. Since men and women were not permitted to sit together, a slot or square cut was put in the middle of the back of the benches to separate the men from the women with a stick or pole. These old benches are still in use today in the back of the Church or in the Fellowship Hall. An old story that has been passed on is that the men brought long sticks to Church so they could tap young boys on the head when they misbehaved.
The second church:
About 1885 the log church was badly in need of repair. A decision was made to move the church nearer the town. Brother R. H. Howren, the pastor of the church from 1885 through 1888, supervised the construction of the second Waukeenah church, a wood framed building, on property secured from the Ames estate in 1887. Lumber for this structure was given by the late Senator W. C. Thomas, who was also a church trustee at the time. The names of Bellinger, Carter, Connell, Grantham, Hightower, Odor, Wooten, and Wethington were on the church rolls. The church was located west of Highway 259 just north of the crossroads.
The old frame church served the Waukeenah Church congregation well for over 70 years. Many improvements were needed, including rooms for the Sunday School classes. It was decided to move to the site of the old Waukeenah School. The school building and land had been given to the church by the Jefferson County School Board on April 1, 1953. According to Mr. Ralph Groom the School board was paid $1.00 for the property. The former school would provide ample space for the much-needed classrooms, as well as a fellowship hall. All we needed was a sanctuary.
The third church:
In 1959, the Building Committee and the Trustees of the Church voted to erect a new sanctuary and authorized the sale of old church and land located on the west side of state road 259. It was sold to Melvin Buzbee.
The first materials were delivered and the construction of the third church building was begun in December of 1959. Many people contributed money, time, and effort to help build our new house of worship. The Monticello Methodist Church donated their old pews when they received new ones. Our congregation is still using the beautiful old pews today. On September 11, 1960, we held our first worship service in the new sanctuary.
After the death of Sam Grantham in 1974, the Fellowship Hall (former Waukeenah School) was named and dedicated the Sam Grantham Memorial Fellowship Hall in his memory. Over the years Sam did so much for the church, having served on all the committees, as Sunday School Superintendent, Sunday School Teacher, and did any job that needed to be done. The building is used for Sunday School classrooms, Fellowship meetings, Sunday dinners, fish fries, wedding receptions, parties, family reunions and many other activities. It has been used for The Woman's Home Demonstration Club, square dances and for many years it was used for lively political forums and is still used for voting during elections.
In 1990 all the windows except two, in the church were replaced with beautiful stained glass windows. Two windows had been replaced with stained glass earlier. The new windows were dedicated October 28, 1990.
Then, in 1991, through many generous donations, the fellowship hall was renovated and a fully-equipped kitchen was installed. Many of our church and community activities are held in this building. It also has Sunday School rooms, a stage and bathrooms.
On August 1, 1996, we purchase the Highway 27 road front property adjourning the church from Elizabeth Boone for $10,500. This parcel of land gives the church more visibility from the highway as well as providing additional parking. We now have a lighted sign beside this major highway with regularly-changed messages to remind passersby about God and his wonderful love. For the past two years we have had a pumpkin patch on this site operated by our youth leaders and youth. The funds from this project are used by the youth for out of town trips.
Continued growth and vision prompted the construction of another building for additional Sunday School space. On June 9, 1996, a service for the dedication and consecration of the Educational Building, named the Brinson Delano Buzbee Educational Building, was held by the District Superintendent J.C. Powell and the Church's Board of Trustees, with Rev. Richard Jones as Pastor. It provides four additional classrooms, a storage room, a Pastor's Study and two restrooms.
On December 30, 2003, the church acquired 1.66 acres of land adjacent to our Church property and cornering on US 27 and CR 259. The cost was $65,000 plus closing cost. It was purchased from George Carswell/North Florida Rentals, Inc. A former home has been renovated and is now being used as our Youth Center. There is also a small block building on this property that is being considered as a food pantry and a clothes closet.
Until 1992, Waukeenah was on a circuit and our pastors served more than one church. Some times the Pastor served as many as five churches and for many years three churches, Lamont, Wacissa and Waukeenah. At one time Chaires, Sardis and I don't know which other church may have been on the Waukeenah Circuit.
Waukeenah and our sister churches have always furnished a parsonage for our pastors. The first parsonage was built on the St. Augustine Road near the time the first church was built. The second wood frame parsonage was located on the west side of highway 259 about 1/2 mile north of the crossroads in Waukeenah. It was quite old, needed many repairs and was very hard to heat. A third parsonage had its beginning under the pastorate of Rev. William Rub at the charge conference held October 21, 1971. A building committee was formed from the Waukeenah Circuit representing the three churches the parsonage would serve, Waukeenah, Wacissa and Lamont. The old parsonage was sold to S. E. Jordan and was moved to the Thomas City area. It is still being used as a home. Construction on the new parsonage on the same site as the old one began in January 1973 under the pastorate of Richard W. Johnston. Construction was completed in early 1974 and the dedication of the beautiful brick Waukeenah United Methodist Parsonage was held on February 3, 1974.
Since 1992, the pastors of the Waukeenah United Methodist Church have had only one church to serve. Rev. Marvin Backtel was the last minister of the three point charge. Rev. Richard Jones was the first to serve the church after the change was made. Rev. Anthony W. Tolson is our current pastor and he and his family lives in the parsonage.
The United Methodist Church has gone through many changes. One major one occurred in April 1939 when three Methodist bodies-The Methodist Episcopal Church, The Methodist Protestant Church and The Methodist Episcopal Church South united to form The Methodist Church. Another major change occurred on April 23, 1968. The United Methodist Church was created when Bishop Reuben H. Mueller, representing The Evangelical United Brethren Church, and Bishop Lloyd C. Wicke of the Methodist Church joined hands at the constituting General Conference in Dallas, Texas. With these words, "Lord of the Church, we are united in Thee, in Thy Church and now in The United Methodist Church," the new denomination was given birth by two churches that had distinguished histories and influential ministries in various parts of the world.
In March and April we did some renovations to the inside of the church. One change that is worthy of note is the alter rail. The alter rail was replaced with some of the wood from the old pews that are probably 150 years old. They were originally used in the first church in the 1800s.
This is a story about land and buildings but it is also about the strong resolve and faith of our fore fathers throughout the years and our present congregation. In the future there will be other buildings but the strength of the Church will always reside in its people who are motivated by a strong belief in God.
Written by Mary Jones Walker Connell, September 2005
For a presentation to the Jefferson County Historical Association October 3, 2005
Presented by Melva Walker
WUMC History of Cemetery Sept 2005
Waukeenah United Methodist Church Cemetery
September 2005
The Waukeenah Methodist Church was established in 1837 according to the official records of the church. The original two acres of the cemetery were acquired from Alexander and Silety Jernigan on August 26, 1841. The oldest grave in the cemetery is that of Charles Tullis Ulmer dated July 20, 1842. Charles Tullis Ulmer was born March 17, 1810. He died during the Indian War under Governor Call of Florida.
An additional acre of land was acquired from Maria E. Ulmer, widow of Charles Tullis Ulmer, on September 24, 1853 for the erection of a "House of Worship." The church, built by slaves, out of logs, stood near where the Cemetery Memorial sign is today. The church was used until 1887-1888 when a new church was erected closer to the center of Waukeenah.
The cemetery is a historical, pre-Civil War cemetery and contains graves of many of the former residents and saints of the Waukeenah Church and community as well as many veterans who served in the Indian War, Civil War, Spanish American War, WWI, WWII and Korean War. Many prominent names appear in the list of those buried here. Among them are plantation owners, Doctors, Legislators, Pastors, early settlers and relatives of Royalty. Many unmarked graves are in the cemetery.
A 1.2 acre addition to the cemetery was acquired January 30, 1995 from Erma Jean, Lyman IV and Sherri Lynn Walker with the agreement that the cemetery rules of the church would not apply to a designated portion of the new site. That means that they have a right to bury anyone in the designated area without following the cemetery rules or consulting the officials of the church.
It is a beautiful old cemetery with many large trees with azaleas scattered throughout the cemetery. At this time, Melva Walker is in charge of the cemetery. Donations are accepted to clean the cemetery in the spring and to pay for the mowing during the year. Each spring, one Saturday is designated as a work day to help maintain the cemetery. A picnic lunch always follows.
A beautiful sign donated by Mrs. Florence Bellinger in memory of William H Bellinger, is located at the entrance of the Cemetery. The Memorial sign was dedicated October 25, 1992. A flag pole to honor our veterans stands toward the center of the Cemetery. Next to the flag pole is a brick memorial with a cross for those buried in the cemetery without markers. As we identify these, name plates are made and placed on the memorial.
The cemetery is located southeast of the cross roads of US 27 and County 259 in Waukeenah on the Cemetery Road.
By Mary Jones Walker Connell, September 2005
For a presentation at the Jefferson County Historical Association October 3, 2005
Presented by Melva Walker