4124 Taylor Road

In January of 1976, Harry Thomas and Virgil Felton presented the messages. An article

appeared in the Herald on March 13, 1976 that read:

“Church Formed. The formal organization of a congregation to be known as The First Christian Church of Punta Gorda will take place during the morning worship services on March 14, 1976 at the Community Building in the Municipal Trailer Park as temporary quarter

Joe Douthett was called to the ministry and preached his first sermon on June 20, 1976. 

Church attendance grew over the next few years led by Joe.  

A five acre parcel of land on Taylor Road was donated to the Church by Curtis and Thelma

Duncan. The groundbreaking for the new church home was on September 9, 1979. The new

building would consist of a sanctuary with a seating capacity of 280, baptistry, four

classrooms, kitchen, minister’s office, and restrooms. Services were first held in the new

building on September 28, 1980. Church dedication was held Sunday, December 7, 1980.

Church attendance continued to grow and more classrooms were added in 1985.

Under Joe’s leadership, our church moved from meeting in homes of members to a beautifuland inviting building where we could worship and praise God.  

Dwight Elam preached his trial sermon on January 16, 2005. The congregation voted and

Dwight answered the call to serve. His first Sunday as our minister was on May 29, 2005.

The church continued to grow and a Fellowship Hall was considered necessary. The

groundbreaking for the second building was on July 21, 2013. The Fellowship Hall has been a

blessing for us providing a meeting place for Bible Study, monthly potluck dinners, social

events, book discussions, and movies.

Dwight and his wife, Becky, served our church for over 18 wonderful years. On December 19,

2023, Dwight unexpectedly passed away after a very brief illness. We not only lost our

minister, but also a beloved friend.

Gary Webster stepped in as our interim minister immediately. He understood that we needed

time to grieve our loss and process the necessary steps forward. The congregation voted for

Gary to be our new minister and he accepted on July 1, 2024. We look forward to Gary’s

leadership for our spiritual growth in the future.

Website:  First Christian Church of Punta Gorda, FL.

4005 Palm Drive

 Faith Lutheran Church, located in Punta Gorda, Florida, was established by missionary Pastor David Lieske on October 1, 1972.  On that Sunday, he also baptized his daughter, Elizabeth Michelle.  He was later called as the resident senior Pastor.  The first services were conducted in the Board Room of the Port Charlotte County Board of Education on Education Avenue.  Later the services were moved into the Punta Gorda Junior High School located at the corner of Palm Drive and Rio Villa.  Faith Lutheran Church built its first permanent building and received its charter from Missouri Synod on March 17, 1973.

In May of 1976, Pastor Carl Geist became Pastor of the congregation and under his direction and other church leaders, an addition would be added.  The addition was dedicated in 1978 at 4005 Palm Drive.  In 1980, the church became self-supporting and burned its mortgage for the 3.3 acres it acquired just a few years prior. 

260 East Olympia

Shortly after the first passenger train arrived in Trabue in July of 1886, Dan Smith, a black man, organized the first religious service in the town. He, with the help of other African Americans in the survey crew, including Sam Kenedy, and men named Graham, Fuller and Ransom,  hired by Albert W. Gilchrist, then a young engineer, erected a palmetto thatched roof shelter for the service.  It was attended by the crew as well as other African Americans and their families already living in Trabue including Isaac Howard, A.G. Reese, S.P. Andrews, Lynn and Rhoda Jackson and Henry Simmons.  Several white families also attended said to have included Isaac and Virginia Trabue, Jacob Wotitzky, Ephraim Goldstein, James Sandlin and their wives. This event led to the establishment of the Bethel AME Church. 

The African American religious community continued to meet informally under the arbor until Isaac Trabue bequeathed some land for the newly organized African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1888. Witness to the transaction was M.T.B. Thomas, the first pastor; Dan Smith, the trustee for the church; and James Sandlin.  Lumber was paid for by Jacob Wotitzky, and Smith and other congregation members built the first sanctuary at Helen Avenue and Milus.  Robert Meacham, postmaster in Punta Gorda, who had organized the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the State of Florida, served as Pastor of the Bethel Church from 1890 to 1892. 

In 1897, a new church was built at Olympia and Wood Streets, unfortunately, destroyed by Hurricane Donna.  A later church structure was severely damaged in Hurricane Charley. Then, in 2006, the current church edifice was dedicated at 260 E. Olympia.   The current pastor is Rev. Frankie S. Fayson III. 

359 Chasteen Street

 

Being demolished after Hurricane Milton 2024.

Built in 1951as a two bedroom which has been converted into a one bedroom.  

23084 Seneca Avenue

 

The first church to form a congregation in  the Punta Gorda region was the Trinity United Methodist in Charlotte Harbor.  The church, originally located at what was then called Hickory Bluff (thought to have been near current day Melbourne St. ) was chartered in 1873 as a member of the Tampa Methodist Episcopal District.   This was years before Isaac Trabue bought the land across the river that would become the town of Punta  Gorda in 1887.  

The current structure is the fourth church sanctuary.  The church moved to its present location at Seneca and Parmely in 1889 on a lot provided by Mathieu and Mary Giddens.  A two-room school was also built next to it. This second church building was destroyed by a hurricane in 1910, and a third structure was severely damaged to yet another storm.  The 1926 Miami hurricane, which flooded the streets of Punta Gorda, blew the church off its foundation.  While it was recovered at that time, in 1944, a strong wind caused the building to badly sway.  

So finally a fourth building was erected of masonry construction, third on the current site, and dedicated on Nov. 9, 1950.

(Information from article by Frank Desguin, Charlotte Sun) 

25250 Airport Road

 

The First Presbyterian Church of Punta Gorda now sits on Airport Road across from the current location of the Masonic Lodge of Punta Gorda.  Ironically, it was in the original masonic hall in downtown Punta Gorda that the church was organized on October 13, 1895.  This year the congregation will celebrate its 125th anniversary.  

Construction of the first church building began in December of 1900 on Harvey Street across from where the City Hall now stands on land purchased from Isaac Trabue.  It was dedicated on April 14, 1901 with Clarence H. Ferran as the first minister.  

For sixty years, the old wood-frame church building served the community, surviving at least two major hurricanes in 1921 and 1926, when almost all buildings in Punta Gorda sustained damage. Then on September 10, 1960 Hurricane Donna hurled into the city and ripped the steeple from the church and damaged the building beyond repair. A year later a new modern church was built at the same location on Harvey.  

1555 Taylor Road, Seventh Day Adventist

 

Seventh Day Adventists have a long history in Punta Gorda.  They started a school in the early town in 1895. There were 13 students originally in eight grades. Services were also conducted at the school.  It was noted in the Florida Times Union of 1900 that the Adventists were one of the congregations building a church here. (We are still researching if, when and where this happened).  

The Adventists also had a significant role in rescuing the local hospital in its early years taking over management in 1969. The Seventh Day Adventists adopted the early Medical Center as one of its official projects, the Punta Gorda Herald at the time reported . "It will have the support of the church organization, and its earnings will be used exclusively to expand the hospital and improve its services.” The adventists owned the hospital until 1994 when it was sold to HMA.  

The church has been located on Taylor Road since the late 1980s.  

(compiled by Theresa Murtha)