I perhaps was not so much intrigued by the history here but rather the immense size of the grounds. At the St. Barnabas site is a rectory, ministry, chapel, office building, primary school, kindergarten school., day care center, library, music room, two playgrounds, memory gardens, court yard, Canterbury House, Living Quarters and much much more. The grounds are absolutely gorgeous as there is many stone path ways, flowers, stone benches, fountain, tea tables, picnic benches, statues and rod iron fencing. Another odd thing is that there is a basement here quite rare for such an old structure such as this.

Of course investigating such a place at night is enough to give anybody chills as your mind runs wild walking the stone pathways down dark corridors and in between alleyways. Because of the history here there is no doubt in my mind that this church is not haunted. There is so many feelings of being watched out various windows. Not including the fact that many other odd things happened on our first visit here. Based on our conclusion I do believe this church is haunted more so by children perhaps since the schools main focus is on education some students have decided perhaps to stick around for class.

Below you will find a deeper history which I am sure you will find very interesting. Another interesting note is that I live near this church. It does tie into the history of the house I reside in today once again. You can start to see the connections between this place and the many others investigated recently which in conclusion is another wonderful addition to the story. It is my belief that this church has many secrets as during the day this place is alive and at night it sits dark with a hauntingly feel.  

© By

Rick-AngelOfThyNight

In 1882 under the direction of Rev. Robert B. Wolseley, one of the early pioneers of DeLand, eighteen of the settlers got together in the little wooden school house in DeLand to create a mission of the Episcopal Church. The early meetings were held in the schoolhouse, but the drive to build their own church was of prime concern. The land for the new church was donated by Captain John Rich and his wife Clara, good members of the already-formed Methodist Church.

The church building fund was started in 1881. Rev. Wolseley had as his model an attractive little church which had been designed by Richard Upjohn. Upjohn died in 1878, but his son Richard M. Upjohn had taken over his business. Rev. Wolseley contacted the son, who furnished the plans for St. Barnabas. The plans came from a book by the elder Upjohn entitled Upjohn’s Rural Architecture. A number of these small Gothic-styled churches became known as Carpenter Gothic churches and are spread all over Florida. St. Barnabas is the oldest public building in continuous use in DeLand.

The cornerstone was laid on All Saints Day, November 1, 1883, and the church was built under the watchful eyes of Dr. Mowers and Mr. J.J. Banta. It was formally dedicated on April 12, 1884. 

Rev. Wolseley resigned the following July and Rev. Charles Francis Adams Bielby, who had taken up residence in DeLand, took over the services. Much of the internal beauty of the church, including the lovely Tiffany windows, was due to the influence of Rev. Bielby and his wife, Viola. 

Viola Bielby was an artist in her own right and had worked for the studios of Louis Comfort Tiffany and J. R. Lamb in New York before coming to DeLand. She was a gifted china and tile painter and continued to do things for the New York studios after she moved to DeLand. Through these men she was able obtain most of the fourteen Tiffany windows at St. Barnabas. Among these were the Good Shepherd window, the four jeweled windows, and five smaller windows. All of these were purchased in 1885 for $391.00.

Though there were other interim priests after the building of the church, Rev. Bielby accepted the rectorship in 1891 and served until his death in 1903. In 1903, the first addition to the church, the Baptistry (where the organ now stands) was given as a memorial to Rev. Bielby by Mrs. Bielby.

As an interesting historical note, Rev. and Mrs. Bielby built their home, Violetwood, in DeLand after the style of their ancestral home in Scotland. Their descendants still occupy the house, which is off Violetwood Road, just north of the DeLand city limits.

In 1922, Professor Litchfield Cotton, a member of the church, was given the job of enlarging the church to meet the needs of a growing congregation. The Nave was extended on both sides from the outer edge of the interior posts and the Apse was added to the Sanctuary. The Good Shepherd window was moved to the left side of the Altar, and the new St. Barnabas window was placed at the right side. 

In 1947 the beautiful, now extinct, virgin heart of pine was donated by Sidney Stubbs, Sr. The paneling was taken from submerged logs, which Stubbs Lumber Company recovered from the bottom of the St. Johns River.

In 1976 the original church building was again enlarged by additions and improvements to the Sacristy, where the preparations for the services are made. This work was designed by the architectural firm of MacMahon and Cajacob with care to maintain the style and atmosphere of the original. This firm has also taken care of the subsequent additions.

With the Centennial year approaching in 1982, the new organ was purchased, and changes were made in the Sanctuary to enlarge the Altar area and move the choir and new organ to the Baptistery area in the rear of the church. Following the Centennial, another major remodeling of the Sanctuary and Nave was undertaken, and the Chapel was added. This brings us to the present building, which now serves a congregation of more than 850 communicants.