Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: Side One: The Traxler community and Spring Hill Methodist Church may never have existed without the Bellamy Road. Completed in 1826, it was the first federal road in Florida. In 1821, Florida became a territory and in 1823, petitioned Congress for a road to link St. Augustine and Pensacola. Tallahassee was the new capital city at the midpoint, on former Apalachee tribal lands. John Bellamy (1776?-1845) from Cowford (Jacksonville) won the bid to build the section from the Picolata on the St. Johns River to Tallahassee for $13,500. He used enslaved laborers to construct the 16-foot-wide road. Trees were cut close to the ground and the timber was used to bolster the road in swampy areas. The workers were plagued by mosquitoes, swamp fevers, flies, and Indian attacks. They worked with cross-cut saws, grubbing hoes, chains, and mules. The road followed Indian trails, going over the Santa Fe River at the natural bridge and by the settlement, Dells (Newnansville). During the 1974 celebration of Tallahassee‘s 150th anniversary as Florida’s capital, Agriculture Commissioner Doyle Conner and others reenacted the trip to the capital on horseback. People from the community greeted the riders with a barbeque lunch at Spring Hill Church. Side Two: In 1860, after the era of circuit rider preachers, the local Methodists built a church. Five men, including Simeon Dell and Fernando Underwood, bought five acres on the Bellamy Road for $50. Though the price was high, it was a prime location. The original church was constructed as a simple A-frame with two front doors to serve whites and a back door for enslaved people. The pews, still in use today, were sawed and hewn by enslaved laborers. The 1896 Cedar Keys Hurricane severely damaged the original church. In 1915, the congregation rebuilt the church retaining the organ and the pews. In 1956, the church elders brought the lumber from Bland Methodist Church to Spring Hill to build an annex. In 2001, the church completed a second annex and restored its bell tower. Church members have memorialized those who have passed on with beautiful stained glass windows. Spring Hill is one of the oldest Methodist churches in Florida. The Annual Methodist Conference celebrated the church’s 150th anniversary in 2010. At a time when small rural churches are in decline, Spring Hill has flourished. Church pastors with notable service include Dr. Franklin Kokomoor (1956-1965), Don Denton (1979-2002), and James Richardson (after 2002).