Union Hill Presbyterian Church and Cemetery TX5594

Settlement in this area began in the early 1850s. By the 1870s Union Hill had developed into a small rural community of families primarily engaged in cotton farming. In 1879 a presbyterian congregation was organized in Union Hill through the efforts of the Rev. J.S. Davenport. The congregation erected a one-room church building at this site in 1880. In 1882 W.P. and Miley Johnson deeded five acres here to Union Hill Church trustees T.E. Wilshire, C.G. Witherspoon, and J.L. Shipley for church and cemetery purposes. The first recorded burial was that of Margaret Beatty on February 4, 1883. Among those buried here are area pioneers and their descendants and several veterans of the Civil War. A tabernacle was built in 1925 and in 1938 the graveyard was improved with the building of a fence with an arched gateway. A cemetery association was formed in 1983 and in 1992 a new tabernacle was constructed. Gatherings on December 24th for a Christmas Eve program and in June for a picnic are two special activities initiated by the congregation in the 1890s which have become traditional annual events. The church and cemetery continue to provide spiritual guidance and burial sites for the community.

---

Washington Crossing PA1938
Here Washington and his troops embarked on Christmas night, 1776, to cross the Delaware and surprise the Hessians at Trenton. A monument marks the exact spot. The State Park was created in 1917.

---

Grace Episcopal Church - 79
Called "A poem of cedar and stone," its history is intimately related to that of Anniston. Town Founders, Daniel Tyler and Samuel Noble, inspired its conception, funded its construction and caused the Woodstock Iron Company to donate the land on which it was built. George Upjohn, Architect, and Master Stonemason, William Jewell, used native pink sandstone and Tennessee knotty cedar to emulate Solomon's Temple. The Gothic Revival edifice, the oldest church in town, was organized on April 8, 1881, built in 1882-5, and consecrated by Bishop Richard H. Wilmer on May 19, 1886. Its first service was conducted on Christmas Eve, 1885. Location: Calhoun County

---

The Church of the Nativity, Episcopal (side 2) - 409
The Church of the Nativity congregation was organized December 17, 1842--the name chosen because of the approaching Christmas season. The Convention of the Diocese of Alabama, Protestant Episcopal Church, approved the congregation on February 16, 1843. The original brick church, erected in 1847, stood east of the present structure.   The present church building, an outstanding example of Gothic Revival architecture, was designed by Frank Wills and Henry Dudley of New York. Erected at a cost of $37,500, it was dedicated Easter Eve, April 13, 1859, and consecrated January 29, 1860. Location: Madison County

---

Truman Capote (1924-1984) AL161
On this site stood the home of the Faulk family of Monroeville, relatives of the writer Truman Capote. Capote himself lived in this home between 1927 and ca. 1933, and for several years spent his summer vacations here. Two of the Faulk sisters operated a highly successful millinery shop located on the town square. The third sister, affectionately known as "Sook," was the inspiration for the characters in the Grass Harp, The Thanksgiving Visitor, and A Christmas Memory. The original structure on this site burned to the ground in 1940, and the second home was demolished in 1988. Monroeville remained important to Capote throughout his life, and he returned to area many times in the years before his death to visit surviving relatives. "I won't be here forever, Buddy. Nor will you ....The Lord willing, you'll be here long after I've gone. And as long as you remember me, then we'll always be together." Truman Capote, The Thanksgiving Visitor

---

Christmas Day, 1835 FL60

On Christmas Day, 1835, Major Francis Langhorne Dade and his command of 111 men bivouacked near here by Fort King Road, which stretched 125 miles from Fort Brooke (Tampa) to Fort King (Ocala). Three days later, at a point about twenty miles north of their Christmas campsite, Major Dade and all but four of his men died in an ambush by Seminoles resisting removal to the West. This battle largely precipitated The Second Seminole War.

---

First Christmas Service FL115

In this vicinity was the Indian village of Anhayea. Here the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and his men spent the fall and winter of 1539-40. Since twelve priests accompanied the Spaniards, it is probable that the first Christmas service in the United States was celebrated here.

---

Fort Christmas FL139

As white settlers moved into Florida in the 1820's and 1830's, there were growing demands that the Seminole Indians be removed to a reservation west of the Mississippi. Efforts to convince the Seminoles to move failed, and in 1835 the conflict known as the Second Seminole War began in earnest. Late in 1837, Maj. Gen. Thomas S. Jesup, overall commander in Florida, began intensive preparations to carry the fighting to south Florida, where he believed he would find a large force of hostile Indians. These preparations included opening a road on the west side of the St. Johns River and building along the road several posts to serve as depots for operations to the south. On Decmeber 25, 1837, troops under the command of Brig. Gen. Abraham Eustis established Fort Christmas on the north side of a creek a short distance from here. General Jesup himself led the column south from Fort Christmas early in January. By late January Jesup's troops were receiving their supplies by water from the St. Lucie River, and in March Fort Christmas was abandoned. While this simple wooden fortification was short-lived, it gave its name to the town of Christmas, a short distance south of here.

---

Woman's Club Of Starke FL450

The Woman’s Club of Starke, formerly known as the Mother’s Club, was founded in the late 19th century and held its meetings in the Bradford County High School. Their purpose was to assist the Bradford County High School. Only mothers were accepted as active members with teachers as honorary members. One of their earliest projects was furnishing a room in the school or a library and a study for the principal. They also provided students with books and clothing and hired a janitor to do maintenance. In 1913, the Mother’s Club reorganized and changed its name to the Woman’s Club of Starke. One year later, after the school moved to a different site, the Woman’s Club began using the school building as its headquarters. In 1917, with the approach of World War I, the building was turned over to the Red Cross. Club women made hospital blankets, Christmas kits for troops and shipped clothing to allies. In 1921, the Board of Education gave the school building to the Woman’s Club, at which time it was remodeled. Some of the lumber from the original structure was used in the new construction. The new craftsman/bungalow building opened on November 3, 1922. Projects undertaken in the 1920s by the Woman’s Club included a drive to remove cows from the streets, development of a city park and municipal suffrage. The Bradford County Library used portions of the building and in 1936 was the first county library in Florida allowed to borrow books from the State Library in Tallahassee. Throughout World War II, the United Service Organization (USO) used the building as a clubhouse where the Army YMCA entertained soldiers who were stationed at nearby Camp Blanding. Opening in April 1941 they provided minstrels, radio programs, quiz games, card games, dances and vaudeville shows for the soldiers. Throughout its history, the Clubhouse has continued to serve as the community’s primary facility for social and cultural events. On April 18,1997, the Clubhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and continues to serve as the Woman’s Club of Starke headquarters.

---

Christmas (Noel) Dagenet IN7

Side one:
Born December 25, 1799 near Terre Haute; baptised by Father Rivet, missionary at Vincennes. Son of French fur trader Ambrose Dagenet and Mechinquamesha, sister of Wea chief Jacco. Served Wea nation and U.S. government at Treaty of St. Mary's signed 1818. Married to Mary Ann Isaacs 1819 by Isaac McCoy at his Baptist Indian mission near here.

Side two:
Recommended by William Clark to work for U.S. government as Interpreter, receiving $400 per year, June 1824 through 1827. He selected land here to fulfill grant in Treaty of St. Mary's; land recorded 1824. Family moved west 1847. Dagenet employed in the last removal of Miamis from Indiana beginning 1846. He died before April 10 in 1848.

---