Christian Peterson
Reporter@riverbendnews.org
Tucked away in a corner of Suwannee County stands Pine Grove United Methodist Church, one of the first churches in Florida and the oldest Protestant church in the county. As the church nears its 200th anniversary, it stands as a testament to the hard work of the pioneers of the time and the history of Suwannee County.
Judge Joseph H. Dyal moved to Florida from Saint Mary’s, which was located in the southeastern part of Georgia. Dyal moved from that area to Suwannee County, although, at the time, it was still known as Columbia County. He built himself a house about a mile from the Suwannee River and settled down. He would later die in 1867; according to friends, he was 100-years-old when he passed. Howell Hawkins, another Georgia traveler, also made the move to Suwannee, building his house about a mile from Dyal’s. Along with him came his son, Howell Junior and a famous revolutionary soldier, Joshua “Father Sharp” Sharp. In fact, the area near Pine Grove had two patriots from the revolution living there, including Father Powledge. Colonel John Lowe was another neighbor who was granted 27,000 acres by the Spanish government. There, he built the first watermill in Florida. Another settler was an Englishman by the name Woods, famous for the fact that he planted a large number of Syrian (Palestine) trees, the only ones of its kind in the area. Another pioneer was Micajah Dean. Initially, in 1827, he chose land 10 miles away from the Pine Grove settlement; however, the Indians were too dangerous and Dean changed course, moving three miles outside of Pine Grove. At the same time, another settler, Elijah Carraway, settled near Dean and was quickly followed by four of his brothers. All of these and many other settlers were buried in the Pine Grove churchyard; however, no grave markers have survived, so their exact location is unknown.
Once Hawkins and Dyal had settled, they followed Methodist tradition and began establishing a church. In 1822, the pair built the first log church with only a dirt floor and named it Pine Grove. Dyal had previous work founding a church in St. Mary’s. The founders and other members of the church served as preachers until a minister could be appointed. This was during the Indian uprisings, causing men of the church to sit outside during the service and guard the congregation. Unfortunately, the record of the first minister of the church is non-existent. Soon, the original church weathered away and a second one was built out of logs and again with dirt floors. Once again, the church decayed, and a third church was built; this time, with plank floors, though they were not nailed down. The third building burned down in 1865. Community members were clearing land and burning brush, which set fire to the roof of the building. A fourth church was then built. However, there are no records of this building. It isn’t until the minutes of the Church Conference of March 18, 1900, that showed that a new church was needed. In 1902, a fifth building was erected, known as the Old White Church. In the 1940’s, electricity began making its way into rural areas. In 1968, after a generous donation from Lucene Wright, the sixth and final building was erected and still stands to this day. By 1977, the church was patiently awaiting a new pastor. Lorraine Abernathy donated an acre of land to the church where they constructed a parsonage.
A few other amazing moments from the church’s timeline include, in 1986 a fundraiser was held to raise money to mark many unnamed graves in the cemetery. In 1998, 21 stained glass windows were donated by members of the church and the surrounding community. In 2002 there was a groundbreaking for what would be five additional Sunday School rooms and a larger activity room. Today the activity room is dedicated to Gwen Anderson, a former member who passed away, her husband made a large donation for the rooms in her memory.
Pine Grove United Methodist Church is currently pastored by John Kerry and meets Sundays at 11 a.m. They also hold Wednesday night groups during the school year. The church can be found at 5325 CR 136a, Live Oak. “The neighbors are like family, and this congregation is the perfect example of that,” member Ed DaSilva said in an interview. They will be holding their 200th Homecoming celebration on Sunday, Nov. 6, starting at 10:30 a.m. There will also be a celebration on Saturday, Nov. 5 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. To find out more about Pine Grove check out their Facebook page or visit them during their service.