St. Mark’s Church takes historic approach to restoring buildings
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The Rev. Bob Marsh stands in front of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palatka. The church’s bell tower is currently being restored and Marsh said one of the challenges was building it as close as possible to its 1850s design. -
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church leaders are working to replace the church’s bell tower. -
Positively Putnam FL
St. Mark’s Episcopal’s Church leaders have plans for restoring buildings on its campus to what they used to look like, except for the gas lamps, project manager Stewart Robinson said with a laugh.
The Palatka church, built in 1854, is on the National Register of Historic Places. A tall, wooden bell tower under construction stands in sharp contrast to St. Mark’s Episcopal’s white main church building, but it’s by no means the last improvement leaders hope to make.
The Palatka church received a $50,000 grant from the state for an architectural study on 312 N. Second St., the northeast building formerly used as an office and as priest living quarters. The study will also cover 208 Main St., the James House, which the church hopes to use as a workshop.
“There’s more to learn about the buildings every day,” Robinson said. “We’re all students.”
After Hurricane Irma in 2017, the congregation couldn’t return until August 2018 due to water damage, roof damage and mold. The church received about $70,000 from its insurance company to restore the interior. Fixing the roof and replacing the rotting wood cost about $121,000, which also came from their insurance company, Robinson said.
“It was condensation due to loss of on-site power. We lost power for about nine days here. It actually rained inside. We had extreme mold,” Robinson said. “We had a $55,000 bid to tear everything out, but we said no once we saw it was not leaking through.”
The church’s current challenge is the bell tower, which is estimated to cost $50,000. The bell tower wasn’t damaged during the hurricane, but the damage came from termites and rot. The church used original materials and measurements, something they couldn’t find in a chain hardware store.
The Rev. Bob Marsh said a major goal was keeping the structure and story of the church intact. Rather than a series of quick fixes, Marsh said, the improvements will restore the buildings while keeping the church’s history and aesthetic intact.
“When they built this bell tower in 1882, they used true 1-inch-and-a-quarter by 10 actual inches,” Marsh said. “We had to have that wood specially milled. We found a place in Pooler, Georgia.”
Marsh compared the process to walking through molasses. Marsh said all of Palatka’s historic buildings were concerned with safety and most of the historic buildings were built before indoor plumbing.
Assistant project manager Wes Westberry said researching the church’s architecture was a full-time job within itself. The church had to keep in mind older building materials from the original construction, such as hand-cut nails, he said.
“We’ve got to replicate what was done in the 1800s,” Westberry said. “You don’t find those (specialists) off the street.”
Marsh said the church will be seeking grants for its Parish Hall, 310 N. Second St., in April.
St. Mark’s Episcopal’s Church services are limited to 50 people with masks required for its two services. It does live-stream services on Facebook, which Marsh called rejuvenating in the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’ll take a while for us to get back into the flow,” Marsh said.
“We’re recognizing it may be a while until we see normal again, if we ever do.”