Our History
A Church Planted with Purpose — 1876 to Today
Mikesville Presbyterian Church was not founded by accident. When a group of families relocated from the Piedmont region of South Carolina to the frontier of north Florida in the 1870s, they brought with them more than their belongings — they brought their faith and their resolve to plant a church in their new home.
These were not ordinary settlers. The families who founded Mikesville Presbyterian were themselves part of the living fabric of American Presbyterian history. Among them was Dr. Samuel C. Means, whose brother hosted in his own living room the earliest gatherings that gave rise to First Presbyterian Church of Spartanburg, South Carolina — one of the great historic churches of the Carolina Piedmont. Dr. Means's sister married the Reverend Wilson, who would go on to become the founding pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, Georgia.
These were people who understood, from personal experience, that a community is only as strong as its church.
Colonel Whetstone and the Town of Mikesville
Also among the founding members was Colonel Michael Whetstone — known to his neighbors simply as "Mike" — connected to the Means and Lites families by marriage and bound to them by shared purpose. Colonel Whetstone was a man of considerable presence in this part of Florida. He owned a substantial tract of land in the area, stretching from the vicinity of the church to the banks of the Santa Fe River at a place then called O'Leno — land that today is preserved as O'Leno State Park. He operated mills at O'Leno, and his enterprise and industry helped shape the early character of the community.
It is from his name — "Mike" Whetstone — that the town of Mikesville took its name.
That the town, the land, and the church were all bound together in the life of one man speaks to something important about how Mikesville Presbyterian came to be. This was not simply a congregation gathered for Sunday mornings. It was a community of families who had uprooted themselves from the familiar Carolinas and were building something lasting — a town, a livelihood, and a church — all at once, all together.
One Hundred and Fifty Years
For 150 years, this congregation has been a constant — through the seasons of agriculture, through the changes of generations, through the full story of this corner of Florida. The faces in the pews have changed over time, but the commitment to faithful, traditional worship and genuine Christian community has never wavered.
We carry that legacy forward with gratitude.
"Their story is our story, and we carry it forward
with both pride and humility."
Est. 1876 • Celebrating 150 Years in 2026
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