Excerpted from Christ Church records

The accuracy of this text has not been checked but is assumed to be correct

The first sacrament of the Episcopal Church performed in the small community of Longwood was the baptism of the baby daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F.H. Rand. This ceremony took place at their home on Easter Day, April 1, 1877, officiated by the Rev. J. H. M. Wedell, a young clergyman recently arrived from Middlebury, Vermont.

The Rands decided to settle in Longwood, where Mr. Rand was appointed lay reader, conducting church services on Sundays in a small log schoolhouse on Mr. E.W. Henck's property (Henck House on Magnolia Avenue). Reverend Lyman Phelps of Ft. Reed, a missionary in Orange County, occasionally assisted with these services. Mr. Henck, an attorney who came to Longwood in 1873, built his house as a winter home and named Longwood after his hometown in Massachusetts. He owned extensive land in the area, the South Florida Railroad, and was a principal of the Pullman Railroad, now owned by Tom Pratt.

Post-Civil War, soldiers returned to a changed South, needing to adapt to the new reality. Northerners, including Edward Henck from Boston, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, began settling in the South, bringing resources and "Yankee" money. Henck, a civil engineer and surveyor, arrived in Longwood in November 1873, dreaming of establishing a township. He received a land grant from Florida for 160 acres at $1.25 an acre, requiring five years of residency. He later acquired 400 more acres and lived on Myrtle Lake (now East Lake). He became the postmaster in 1876 and renamed the town Longwood, after a Boston suburb.

With few horses available, residents walked to Mellonville (now Sanford) for supplies, often through ankle-deep sand. This dirt road would later become County Road 427, Ronald Reagan Blvd.

Edward Henck and General Sanford sought to establish a railroad through Sanford and Longwood. By 1880, due to a lumber company brought in by northern industrialists, Longwood thrived. Henck became president of the South Florida Railroad Company.

In 1879, the Right Rev. John Freeman Young, the second Bishop of Florida, noted in a report: “I visited Longwood, confirmed two, and after the services completed the organization of the Mission. There is much interest in this spirited community and a church building is about to be erected.”

Mr. and Mrs. Edward Rand of Boston, visiting their son F.H. Rand, supported the idea of building a church in Longwood. They procured funds in Boston, and Mr. E.W. Henck donated land for the church. Mr. Rand designed the church, and with help from Rev. F.R. Holman, John and James Searcy, and others, the church was built in 1880 on Church Street, a block west of the Post Office. The first service was held on Easter Day, April 19, 1882, officiated by Rev. Lyman Phelps.

Hal Freeman noted that most Longwood residents in the 1880s were Episcopalians and Congregationalists, with few Southern Baptists. The church received various gifts, including a Communion Chalice, a silver Alms basin, and a large Bible dated 1879. Mrs. Edward Rand donated a stained glass window for the Altar.

In 1880, a hurricane damaged Holy Cross Church in Sanford, leading its congregation to donate their old furnishings to Christ Church in Longwood, including a wooden Altar, a Lectern, and a carpet. Albert Martin, a master cabinet-maker, made the reading desk still in use today. F.H. Rand, J.B. Clouser, and James Arnold crafted a beautiful Font from native Florida woods.

In 1884, the F.H. Rand family donated brass Altar vases and a Cross in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Rand and Rev. Charles A. Rand, who were lost at sea. The church bell was given in memory of Mr. F.H. Rand's mother.

Rev. F.H. Holman led the Mission Church at Longwood from 1883 to 1888, organizing the Sunday School and advancing church work. In 1887, the new Bishop of Florida, Right Rev. Edwin G. Wood, confirmed one person at Christ Church.

In 1889, Rev. William H. Bates, former headmaster of St. Paul's School, Concord, New Hampshire, took charge of the Mission. Under his leadership, the church's influence grew, and the church was completed, debt-free. The land and buildings were transferred to the Diocese, and the church was consecrated by Bishop Edwin G. Weed in 1889.

By 1883, Longwood's lumbering and related building industries were the largest in Florida, coupled with employment from the South Florida Railroad Company. Longwood incorporated as a city on December 3, 1883, establishing local government and holding its first election.

Around 1885, Methodist families built a church near Warren and East Lake Street on land donated by Edward Henck, which later became the Longwood Baptist Church in 1891. By 1886, Longwood had five denominational churches: Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregational, and Episcopal, plus a Self-Union Church known as West Longwood Chapel.

At the 1892 General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Maryland, the Diocese of Florida was divided into Northern and Southern Dioceses. Right Rev. William Crane Gray became the first Missionary Bishop of the new district, with Rev. W. H. Bates continuing his ministry at Christ Church.

Following Rev. Bates's retirement, various clergymen, including Rev. Mr. Greetham, Dean Lucian Spencer, Rev. Mr. Punnett, Rev. J.J. Bowker, and Rev. A.A. Rickert, led the Mission. When no clergyman was available, Mr. Rand conducted Layreaders services. The Rand family moved to Orlando in 1916, and Mr. Rand continued as Layreader for two Sundays a month when needed.

In the early 1890s, Longwood's economy declined as lumbering businesses moved out, followed by the railroad's collapse, leading to significant job losses and population decline. The Methodist church on Warren Street was abandoned, eventually becoming a Southern Baptist church.

From 1895 to 1905, Longwood experienced a severe economic downturn due to a freeze in February 1895, devastating citrus crops and businesses. Many residents left, leaving Longwood almost a "ghost town." Churches, including the Longwood Baptist Church, struggled, with most people attending the Episcopal Church during this period.

(Source: Hal Freeman's Historical Collection of Longwood, 1980)