McIntosh Presbyterian Church

We visited the small Victorian town of McIntosh as part of a two-day trip in search of Old Florida. Col. John McIntosh owned a plantation from the 1820s until it was destroyed by the Seminole Indians in the Second Seminole War. After the Civil War, citrus groves thrived. When the railroad came to town in 1881, McIntosh prospered as new markets were opened; citrus and vegetables were shipped North. Packing sheds were built next to the depot. One of them, the restored Carriage House, houses privately-owned antique carriages. Trains brought tourists to stay in hotels and boarding houses to enjoy hunting, fishing and warm weather. When train service stopped in 1969, the depot fell into disrepair but was saved and restored by the Friends of McIntosh; it is now the Friends of McIntosh Museum. Many homes were built during the late 1800s of hard yellow pine; the architecture is Florida Cracker and Gothic Revival. The town has the distinction of having 68 sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Many of these homes are now restored and privately owned. Not much has changed since the 1930s. Among the significant buildings is the McIntosh Presbyterian Church, an example of Carpenter Gothic architecture, a style that involves architectural details on wooden structures that were originally carved in stone. Carpenter Gothic features lancet windows and doors, tall narrow openings with a pointed arch at the top. Another church with interesting history is the McIntosh United Methodist Church, the first church in town, moved by mule and log rollers from neighboring Center Point in 1895. We started our tour by stopping at the town hall to purchase a $5 "Town of McIntosh" booklet. There we met Jeannie, the Town Manager, who welcomed and invited us to see the small library and museum in the building. She also demonstrated the "Mileage Meter," the GPS predecessor. The town sponsors an annual festival in November which began in 1974 as a way to raise money to help move the historic depot 30 feet from the existing railway right-of-way. Today, the festival is held rain or shine, hot or cold and has grown to 250 vendors and 40,000 visitors. In 2020, it was held virtually. Proceeds support local scholarships, schools and a food bank.
Mar 26th, 2022

Wonderful Church.
Sep 8th, 2020