We bought the historical building at the end of June of 2019. Our first mission was to clean the attic. You can see the beadboard ceiling above Robert W. Hamilton, Jr.

The central part of our building is the original First Methodist Church built in 1895. The roof features the Dade Pine trusses and boards. Over the century, the building survived major hurricanes in our area with no damage to the structure. In 2022, the wind mitigation and home inspector gave our roof a mean uplift resistance of at least 182 psf.

We found the lancets in the attic above the part of the building that was added in the early 1930s by the St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.

The marks from the Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church lancets.

Beadboard restoration: removal of drywall (walls, drop ceiling) and paneling, uncovering the original beadboard.

We needed a bathroom with a shower. After we removed the drywall and paneling, we were concerned, looking at the mess under the window. But when we removed the beadboard, cleaned all the mess and pulled out the old newspapers, we were relieved – the exterior load-bearing wall studs were in a good condition. And with the help of our professional woodworker Jonathan, all we had to do was to add extra blocking, and the window opening was ready for a window replacement.

We proceeded with removal of the drywall, paneling, drop ceiling, and beadboard. The exterior load-bearing wall framing looked good. We cleaned up the cavities, added extra blocking and cripples, insulated the walls with a layer of closed-cell spray foam and Rockwool insulation and reinforced the interior load-bearing walls with 3/4″” plywood.

Robert and our friend Carl are ready to take down the drop ceiling and remove the paneling in front room.

Under the 1960-70s paneling is the beadboard paneling. Robert removed the beadboard and stored it. The beadboard paneling will be restored and put back.

The front room was also added by the St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in 1930s. After the bead board removal, we could see that the wood lath and the wall framing were in a very good condition. Robert reinforced the wall framing with extra blocking, insulated with closed-cell foam, and after we reinforced the entire wall with 5/8″ plywood.

We are very thankful to all our friends and supporters for their altruistic help in our endeavor to preserve the Pioneer Church!

Unfortunately, due to deliberate negligence and mismanagement of the City of Stuart CDBG HR Project on rehabilitation of our historical building, shoddy and destructive work, fraud and cover-ups, we are in a very tough situation. Please click on the article below to learn more.

But You are welcome to visit us!

The City of Stuart CDBG HR Program- They Had The SHPO Letter 2023!

The building of the first community church, the oldest church building in today’s Martin County, still stands in historic Downtown Stuart, only without its steeple. The Florida Master Site File, the State of Florida’s official inventory of historical, cultural resources, lists the following state-assigned site ID number for the historical structure recorded at 311 Southwest 3rd Street, in Stuart, Martin County, Florida: MT00346.

Please follow us on Facebook – The 1895 Church of StuArt – for updates on the upcoming events and our restoration progress. www.facebook.com/The1895ChurchOfStuArt

Historical Building Of The First Community Church built in 1895 in Stuart, Florida

The 1895 Church of StuArt is not tax exempt, and neither donations nor purchases from The 1895 Church of StuArt are tax deductible. We appreciate any help!

Sponsorship and advertising opportunities at our events and on the website are available. The proceeds benefit the historical building restoration and maintenance. Please contact Olga Hamilton for more information: olgahamiltonfineart@gmail.com; (772) 708-2968

The owners of the historical building contact:
Robert W. Hamilton, Jr. and Olga Hamilton
olgahamiltonfineart@gmail.com

Stop by our historical church, enjoy the building’s history tour and fine art by our local artists. The sale proceeds benefit the historical building maintenance and restoration.

Olga Hamilton donated her special edition artwork titled ‘Gathering at the First Community Church’ to Stuart Main Street. The artwork was auctioned off by KC Daniel of Associate Auctions, a second generation auctioneer, J.D., Florida Real Estate Broker, to raise funds for Stuart Main Street.