Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: This little church began as a simple rectangular board and batten structure built in 1886 by the First Congregational Church on Main Street in Apopka. Services were held in the church for ten years until the Great Freeze of 1895 forced the congregation to disband. The building housed various businesses during the subsequent years, and eventually fell into neglect. In 1902, two Orange County educators, sisters Elizabeth Emma and Mary E. Dart, prevailed upon Saint Luke’s Cathedral in Orlando to purchase the building for $75 and start an Episcopal Mission. The Dart sisters, alongside other Episcopalians, restored and re-consecrated the church. Bishop William Crane Gray held the first service on November 16, 1902, in the renamed Church of the Holy Spirit. Parking issues and traffic noise forced the congregation to relocate the church to its current location in 1970. Congregation growth prompted the construction of a new church building, and the “Big Church” was consecrated by Bishop John W. Howe in 1990. The original “Little Church” serves as Holy Spirit’s Memorial Garden Chapel. Both churches display Carpenter Gothic architecture and reflect the Gospel Story of Jesus Christ in stained-glass windows.