Monticello’s First Presbyterian Church originated when families met in homes in the 1830s. In 1839, they solicited pledges for a building and officially organized as Monticello Presbyterian Church on July 4, 1840, as a member of the Georgia Presbytery. They did not form the Florida Presbytery until 1841.
Joshua Phelps was the first pastor. They held meetings in the courthouse or Jefferson Academy until they erected the building. The church members purchased Lot #55 for $200 on January 20, 1841, and they built the building shortly after that, using native woods and bricks hauled by ox carts from South Carolina. In 1853, they built a manse on East Washington Street on land given by Ellen A. Beatty White.
The church is one of the few remaining Greek Revival religious buildings from the mid-nineteenth century in Florida. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and the American Presbyterian/Reformed Historic Sites Registry.
The red brick church porch and columns were plastered and painted white. There are shutters and eight tall, twenty-four-pane windows with most of the original lead glass panes. On a square pedestal, the simple cone-shaped steeple houses a five-hundred-pound bell installed in 1882. Single doors flank a central double door with a stained glass transom on either side.
The interior is intricate, handmade woodwork. A Roman arch behind the pulpit frames the Gothic-styled stained glass window, given in 1913 by Dr. Thomas Palmer in memory of his daughter and son.
We know little about the earliest pastors or the exact dates they served. In 1861, they divided the Presbyterian Church into northern and southern branches. During the Civil War, Rev. W. E. Hamilton asked for a leave of absence in July 1864 to “pastor the Army of Tennessee.”
After the war in 1866, a man destroyed the church building by fire. The congregation rebuilt it using as many original bricks as possible.
Rev. Fraser started the first Sabbath School in 1867. When his great-granddaughter wrote for information on his two children “buried in the church cemetery,” members sent pictures of two small graves built together, with a metal cross, but no names, in the old city cemetery. We asked for a photo of Rev. Fraser, and sometime later, she sent one from a Decatur church where he was pastor. It and other pastors’ framed photos are displayed in the main entrance hall to the education building.
The congregation refurbished the building during the long ministry of Rev. Benjamin L. Baker (1871-1910); they paneled the interior and installed electric lights. A marble plaque in the sanctuary honors Rev. Baker. Following him was Rev. Robert Orr (1911-1914). Members installed a new organ and pipes covering the memorial window during his tenure. This caused much disagreement, but they could find no other place for them.
In 1911, ladies formed the Synodical of Florida Synod in our church, with Miss Rose Denham, a founding family member, elected the first president. Women were engaged in every aspect of church life.
A marble plaque in the sanctuary honors Rev. Henry Holmes for his many years of faithful service. (1921-1940). He started a successful children’s organization, Christian Endeavor, and changed prayer meetings from Friday afternoon to Wednesday night; so more could attend. His wife was the former Miss Katie Budd, a congregation member.
The congregation built an education building in 1941 while Rev. Melrose Avery was pastor. Before this, they held children’s classes in two small rooms on either side of the choir loft, and adults met in the sanctuary. A station wagon transported children who could not attend church or other special outings.
In 1951, Rev. Robert Wallace led the church to add a second story to the education building, which immensely helped the Sunday School program. Mrs. Wallace was the former Elizabeth Denham, also a descendant of founding members. She was an excellent teacher and choir director.
Having sold the old manse, the church bought a house on East Pearl Street to serve as our manse in 1953, just before Rev. Keith and family came. They later sold this one in the 1980s.
In 1959, when we enlarged the education building again, the congregation installed a new organ console. Rev. Merrill Keith‘s woodworking skills contributed to the sanctuary’s renovation. One can see one example in the panels on both sides of the choir loft, carved with symbols from the Presbyterian Seal. After nearly forty-six years, it overjoyed members to see the lovely memorial window uncovered. After carefully removing several broken panes, they made exact replicas in Atlanta, and Rev. Keith installed them using the original lead.
Blessed with many pastors, some of whom served for only a year or two, but with unique talents for ministry, they made enduring friendships. Some, like Charles Landreth, John Dudley, and Henry Gregory, came straight from seminary with youthful enthusiasm to one of the oldest churches in Florida. In 1983, while Rev. Gregory served, they reunited the northern and southern churches, forming the Presbyterian Church, USA.
Clarence Payne, an FSU doctoral student, was our pastor for only one year but kept in touch from far away. He came back for special baptisms, marriages, and funerals, and now he visits from Tallahassee. We had many retired interim pastors who brought wisdom and knowledge from years of loving service to God, and we benefitted from the leadership of all.
In 1983, we had our first homecoming. We were without a pastor then, so former pastor Rev. Landreth came to preach. Many members who had moved away came to help us remember, rejoice and give thanks.
They completely renovated the education building in 1985, while Rev. Joseph Griffitts pastored. Then Rev. Jack Morris, retired minister of Tallahassee, led our church successfully for two years. By the Grace of God, we saw the completion of the Woodrow Malloy Fellowship Hall in June 1995 while Rev. Douglas Hughes was pastor. The church gathered thankfully in that building for a second joyful homecoming in November.
Two retired ministers led us faithfully and lovingly in the last years before our present pastor was called; Rev. Carl Hanks from 1997 to 2004 and Rev. James Urquhart from 2004 to 2007. Rev. Sharon A. Schuler was ordained and installed in our church after her arrival in August 2007. She and her husband, John Schuler, recently graduated from Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta. Sharon Schuler’s tenure here ended in 2011. R.C. Griffin III followed as the 27th pastor, starting in 2014.
Our history reveals that the congregation has been involved in Christian service at home and abroad. Records tell us of unusual and exciting ways our forebears found to fund their many service projects in good times and during hard years of depression. The church still helps those in need here and worldwide and shares fellowship with one another and the community.
As we gather, we rejoice and give thanks! Over the years, the church has survived many trials by God’s Grace, and with His guidance, we look forward, with hope, to the days and years yet to come.
January 2023
Pastors of First Presbyterian Church of Monticello, Florida
1. Joshua Phelps | 1840 – 1842 |
2. Joel Graves | 1843 – 1850 |
3. William E. Hamilton | 1851 – 1866 |
4. Donald Fraser | 1867 – 1870 |
5. Benjamin L. Baker | 1871 – 1910 |
6. Robert H. Orr | 1911 – 1914 |
7. F. Ray Riddle | 1915 – 1918 |
8. Thomas G. Watts | 1919 – 1921 |
9. Henry Holmes | 1921 – 1940 |
10. Melrose S. Avery | 1940 – 1941 |
11. Robert T. Wallace | 1941 – 1952 |
12. A. Merrill Keith | 1953 – 1965 |
13. Charles L. Landreth | 1966 – 1968 |
14. Clarence C. Payne | 1969 – 1970 |
15. William A. Hearn | 1970 – 1972 |
16. John C. Dudley | 1972 – 1976 |
17. Alexander Gillander | 1976 – 1978 |
18. Henry D. Gregory, IV | 1978 – 1983 |
19. Walter H. Styles | 1983 – 1984 |
20. John Ter Louw | 1984 – 1985 |
21. Joseph P. Griffitts | 1985 – 1991 |
22. Jack E. Morris | 1991 – 1993 |
23. Douglas E. Hughes | 1993 – 1997 |
24. Carl Hanks | 1997 – 2004 |
25. James Urquhart | 2004 – 2006 |
26. Sharon A. Schuler | 2006 – 2011 |
27. R.C. Griffin III | 2014 – 2016 |
Mary Budd Holmes compiled the list of pastors in 1983. The first two are from baptismal records, and the dates are approximate. Others are from the Session Book.