HISTORY OF ALL SAINTS EPISCOPAL CHURCH

TARPON SPRINGS, FLORIDA

Mission Founded 1892

The establishment in 1892 of All Saints within the Missionary District of Southern Florida made the church the fourth oldest in Hillsborough County. Twenty years later, the western portion of Hillsborough became Pinellas County. In early days, the parishioners met in one anothers' homes and circuit priests visited several small communities.

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Construction was started on the church building in 1905. The Florida Gothic style was thought to have been copied after the original Church of the Ascension in Clearwater, Florida. This vernacular architecture was found in many homes and buildings of the time. The building was constructed of native Florida pine cut locally.

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Mrs Paul Cheney founded the women's organization know as St Margaret's Guild in 1905. The Guild later became Episcopal Church Women (ECW). They provided the original pews and altar liners.  

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The first sermon in the new sanctuary was preached December 30, 1906 by the Reverend S A Potter. The building was consecrated by Bishop William Crane Gray in February, 1907.

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In June 1979, the church was moved from its original site at Grosse Street and Tarpon Avenue in downtown Tarpon Springs to its present site on Keystone Road. To quote the Clearwater Times:

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"When the members of All Saints' Episcopal Church decided to move their church, they meant it literally.  The All Saints' Episcopal Church building was moved Tuesday from 400 East Tarpon Avenue to the church's new property on Keystone Road one mile east of U.S. 19 where it was placed adjacent to the newly constructed parish hall.  The church is shown (above [right]) as it was prepared for the move ahead of time. The steeple (left) was moved separately Tuesday afternoon. Special care was taken to protect the stained-glass windows. Services will be in the parish hall Sunday, since the church building itself will be temporarily unusable. The first services in the newly moved building will be July 1 [1979]." 

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During the next ten years, two periods of construction enlarged the church to its present size.  

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The steeple bell, installed in 1965, was a gift of friends of the Reverend George Johnson. Cleaning revealed that it had been cast in 1779. In constant use since its installation, the bell continues to be used for call to worship and marking hours of assembly during quiet days. The ringing of the bell on the 4th of July coincides with other bells throughout the country.

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The stained glass windows of All Saints Church are priceless. Oliver Smith, a nationally famous artist, created all of the windows in the original church except for the one above the altar. Kevin Postich was the artist and manufacturer of the windows added when the church was enlarged. For more on the stained glass windows, click here.