St. Mary's African Methodist Episcopal Church - Armstrong, Florida

Last week we took a nice long walk on the Palatka-to-St. Augustine rail to trail in St. John's county. After reading the history of this rail road line and that it passed through the historic town of Armstrong I knew this would make an interesting walk.

Armstrong Historic Community

The town of Armstrong is one of  the oldest African American communities in St. John's county. The small community was settled about 1886 around a sawmill. By 1900 it was a thriving agricultural community shipping potatoes by rail. Timber and turpentine was another big industry for the small community.

While walking the trail you can see the location of the train depot, the Armstrong post-office and the Sand Cut Camp which was for railroad employees. You can also see the remains of St. Mary's AME Church.

St. Mary's African Methodist Episcopal Church

The original church was a wood frame building constructed in 1914. This building was destroyed by fire in 1915 and the members met for the next ten years in homes around town. The present church and bell tower was built in 1925. I can just imagine the excitement of the congregation when their new building was finished.

The picture on the sign shows the church in 1985.

This is what the church looks like now. If you peer closely you can just barely make out the remains. The woods and undergrowth are threatening to completely over take the abandoned building. 

(I could have gotten a better picture if I had gotten off the trail and tramped through the high grass and underbrush. But this is Florida and that means ticks! So, no way...I stay on the trail.)

Take Time to See the World Around You!

 I often wonder if any of the bicyclist that blew by us have ever taken the time to stop and peer off the trail to see the ruins of this tiny church. Walking is a nice way to  view the world around us at 3 miles per hour.

Get outside and take a slow walk to see what you can see!

State(s):	Florida
Counties:	St. Johns
Length:	8.5 miles
Trail end points:	FL 207 and CR 207 (Spuds) to (nearly) I-95 in Elkton

You can see other churches and cemeteries by checking out:

17 Miles Walk Along the Palatka to St. Augustine Rail to Trail

Dotted all over the country and even around the world old, abandoned railroad lines are being given new life as walking and biking trails. The Palatka-to-St. Augustine rail to trail is eight and half miles long and runs through the towns of Armstrong, Elkton and Vermont Heights in northeast Florida. On Sunday we took a round trip walk on the trail for a total of 17 miles. 

The Palatka-to-St. Augustine trail is open to foot traffic and bicycles but walkers were well out numbered by bikes. Even so the trail was well marked with one lane for bikes and the other for foot traffic. 

The First Few Miles

The first few miles of the trail runs along State Road 207. There was no shade! It made us glad we started early to beat the Florida heat. 

There were several interesting, abandoned buildings along the trail.

A few beautiful farms along the way. I wonder if they're glad the trains are gone?

Finally We Found the Shade!

Most of the trail ran through shady woodlands. This made for a pleasant walk.

Since we did a round trip walk we ended up back on the sunny part of the trail around noon. But at least there was a nice breeze so it wasn't so bad. 

It took us 5 hours and 23 minutes to walk 17 miles. That time doesn't include a few rest stops and lunch. 

This is about half the distance we'll be walking next month in New York when we do The Great Saunter.You can read about that here-The Great Saunter - A Slow 32 Mile Walk Around Manhattan Still need to do some training!