St. George Episcopal Church

St. George Episcopal Church was built in 1882 as part of a set of missions being developed along the St. Johns River by John Freeman Young after the Civil War. Young was a teacher of liturgics and church music before being ordained as a deacon on April 20, 1845, then as a priest on January 11, 1846. On July 25, 1867, he was made the second bishop of Florida by the Episcopal Diocese of Florida. Young used bodies of water around northern Florida to define regions, and in 1877, a small group of Episcopalians met to establish a mission on Fort George Island, which was only accessible via boat at that time. The same year, he began creating missions both on Fort George Island and Batten Island.

Near the end of 1881, services were being held in an unfinished building at the site of the current St. George Episcopal Church. In 1883, stained glass windows were added, and the building was completed by 1884 and set aside as a place of worship on Holy Innocents Day. Designed by Robert S. Schuyler, the church was constructed in a Carpenter Gothic style, which was popular from 1867-1924 for its climate-suitable construction as well as its ability to be easily built and maintained. Many Carpenter Gothic buildings had a steep gable roof, narrow, rectangular shape, pointed lancet windows, and a bell tower, and were built using local materials and craftsmen. St. George Episcopal Church also has red doors, a tradition in Episcopal churches symbolizing safety from physical and spiritual harm for people who enter the church.

In 1987, a preservation grant from the State of Florida allowed the building to be restored. For 113 years after the church’s completion, it operated as a Mission of the Diocese. In January 1997, Stephen Hays Jecko, the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Florida, named the church as a full parish. The church’s name comes from St. George, who is depicted slaying a dragon on one of the stained glass windows above the alter. St. George supposedly lived during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, coming from Cappadocia and making it to the rank of tribune in the Roman army. When Diocletian issued a royal order that all Christians who denied Christ would be given royal honors, but those who sustained their faith would be put to death, George denounced the emperor’s orders. St. George was known as someone who fought evil, protected women, and was generous to the poor, with devotion to him becoming popular in Europe after the 10th century. By the 15th century, his feast day in England was as important as Christmas.

In 2002, St. George Episcopal Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also recognized by the City of Jacksonville and the State of Florida as a historic building. In 2005, St. George Episcopal Church and the Florida Department of State erected a marker for the church at 10560 Fort George Road Jacksonville, Florida 32226.

1. Matthews, Kate. Saint George Episcopal Church, Saint George Jax. Accessed October 8th 2020. https://www.saintgeorgejax.org/historic-st-george.
2. St. George Episcopal Church 2, Fort George Island, FL, University of North Florida. December 23rd 2008. Accessed October 8th 2020. https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/historical_architecture_main/1239/.
3. Stroud, Mike. St. George Episcopal Church, Historical Marker Database. August 1st 2017. Accessed October 8th 2020. https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/historical_architecture_main/1239/.
4. Matthews, Kate. Saint George Episcopal Church, Saint George Jax. Accessed October 8th 2020. https://www.saintgeorgejax.org/#!visit-historic-st-george.
5. Young, John Freeman, Episcopal Church. Accessed October 8th 2020. https://episcopalchurch.org/library/glossary/young-john-freeman.