Spiritual Memorials of the Past
Moss Hill Church
Close to Chipley, Florida, Moss Hill Church was built in 1857 and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. It remains one of Florida’s oldest standing church buildings. The church is built of milled lumber, sawed at a water-powered mill on nearby Hard Labor Creek, and both square nails and wooden pegs were used to fasten the structure together. The church was attended by both whites and African American slaves during the years leading up to and during the Civil War. Both whites and blacks assisted in the construction of the structure and it stands today as a landmark to all of the early residents of Holmes Valley.
First Baptist Church of Campbellton
Constructed in 1825, the Bethlehem Baptist Church of Campbellton is now known as Campbellton Baptist Church and is the oldest organized Baptist Church in Florida. The graveyard dates back to the civil war era.
Old Philadelphia Presbyterian Church
Visit this picturesque historic church and adjoining cemetery off SR 65 north of Quincy. Presbyterians came here from Georgia and the Carolinas as early as 1822. These worshippers built a log meeting house in 1828, which was replaced in 1859 by the present building. The Old Philadelphia Presbyterian Church remains Gadsden County’s oldest surviving meeting house and many churches in Florida and Georgia can trace their origins to this church
Arnett Chapel A.M.E. Church
Organized in 1866, the Arnett Chapel A.M.E. Church congregation is among the oldest in Gadsden County. The Romanesque Revival style building was constructed in 1938-39 and named for the Reverend Benjamin W. Arnett, the presiding bishop in Florida from 1888-1892.
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church was established in the 1830s in Marianna and was rebuilt four times due to wars and fire. During Marianna’s Civil War battle a Union officer saved the pulpit Bible when his squad lit the church on fire. It is on display inside the church. Florida’s governor during the Civil War, author Caroline Lee Hentz, is buried in the cemetery along with other notable people.
Chestnut Street Cemetery
The Chestnut Street Cemetery was established in 1831 and funerary art reflects the ethnic diversity of the community. Located on Highway 98 between 6th and 8th Streets in Apalachicola, it is the oldest burying ground in Apalachicola and the burial site of many individuals connected with the history and development of the town and area. Approximately 540 marked graves are located in the cemetery, but there are many more gravesites that are unmarked. A variety of tombstones decorate the cemetery, from simple vertical slabs from the 1830s to elaborate marble monuments. A few graves are marked with simple wooden crosses or a blanket of shells with no names.
Old Salem Store & Cemetery
Some of the earliest settlers in the Little River area of Gadsden County are buried in this cemetery. Many of these people moved from Little River and China Hill east to form the community of Salem. When the railroad came through about a mile east shortly after 1900, Salem dwindled in size as people moved closer to the railroad for commerce and formed the town of Havana. Many of the descendants of people from Salem became the founding families of Havana.
