The history of the Episcopal Church in Mount Dora actually began over six
decades before the founding of St. Edward the Confessor (now known as St. Edward's Episcopal Church). In 1893, the
Rt. Rev. William Crane Gray, newly consecrated bishop of the Missionary Jurisdiction of Southern Florida, made his first journey
around the territory which General Convention had separated the previous fall from the expanding Diocese of Florida.
He visited Mount Dora in the spring and selected a lot suitable for a church building. However, during his episcopate
he held services and preached either in the Methodist or Congregational churches, and the Episcopal presence remained an unnamed
mission station until in 1914, when the Rt. Rev. Cameron Mann became bishop, it was listed in the Convocation Journal as an
unorganized mission named St. Luke.
Several
years later, in 1922, it appears as an organized mission named Trinity. It became dormant sometime during 1926 as a
result of the collapse of the real estate boom. It would be another three decades before the Episcopal Church established
itself in Mount Dora with the founding of St. Edward the Confessor. In the meantime, Episcopalians journeyed the few
miles over to Eustis and attended St. Thomas Church there.
1956 St. Edward's was organized
as a mission on February 5th, following a service presided over by Canon William Hargrave, Executive Secretary of the Diocese
of South Florida and later first Bishop of Southwest Florida. The service was held in the home of the late Maria Hartridge
and was attended by 35 persons. Until the end of April, services continued in the Masonic hall. The congregation purchased a two-acre estate, formerly the Bardwell home.
Convenient to the center of the city, it came complete with a house, two orange groves, and a swimming pool.
At the annual convention of the Diocese of South Florida on
May 22nd, St. Edward's was accepted as an organized mission.
The downstairs of the house was remodeled into a chapel seating 85 people. The first resident vicar
arrived October 1st, and by the end of the year, seating capacity was stretched to the limit.
1958
September 23rd witnessed groundbreaking for a new church building.
1959 Easter Day, March 29th, marked the first services held in
the new church structure which had been constructed on the property.
1969
Parish status was achieved at the April 28th annual convention of the Diocese of South Florida.
1974 February 5th was a day of special celebration.
Free and clear of debt, the church was consecrated by the Rt. Rev. William H. Folwell, Bishop of Central Florida, one of the
three dioceses into which South Florida had been divided. The consecration was 18 years to the day of that first worship
service in the Hartridge parlor. This service was attended by nearly 300 people in contrast to the 35 present at that
first service.
2006
St. Edward's celebrated its 50th jubilee on February 5th. In attendance were the former priests of St. Edward's,
as well as, the current bishop, the Rt. Rev. John W. Howe.
