Ancient City Baptist Church

Around the time the Grace United Methodist Church and the Flagler Memorial Presbyterian Church were being built in St. Augustine, the Baptists were also in need of a church. They asked Henry Flagler * for help and he offered to give them a piece of land if they would build a church on the site within 2 years. The congregation raised $10,000 and built the church within the specified time frame. Built in 1895 in the Romanesque Revival Style, the church is the first masonry Baptist Church in the state of Florida.

* Henry Flagler was an American industrialist and founder of Standard Oil, and St. Augustine changed forever in 1885 when he visited and attended a yearly festival designed to draw visitors. He loved the experience , and saw the potential for a great resort town. That year he began construction on a hotel he envisioned as the grandest in America. He purchased the small, worn railroads that led to St. Augustine and standardised the gauge. This allowed his guests to board the railroad in New York and ride it all the way to the town without having to change trains.