Historic Marker Monday: Key West's Old Stone Church (Marker #55)

Historic Marker Monday: Key West's Old Stone Church (Marker #55) Host Michele O'Connor introduces the Fun in Key West podcast and a Historic Marker Monday episode focused on historic marker #55, the Old Stone Church (United Methodist Church) at 600 Eaton Street at Simonton and Elizabeth in Old Town. She explains how Methodist missionaries began services in 1832 in Bahamian settler Samuel Kemp's home for 12 years before a series of wooden church buildings were damaged by fire and hurricanes. Commissioned around 1870, architect William Kerr built the current coral-rock church by quarrying stone on the grounds and constructing it around the existing wooden church, later dismantling the interior structure after the roof went on in 1884. The quarry became a rainwater cistern, and 1950s excavation revealed the church sits on a small cemetery. The church remains active, with some Kemp descendants still attending, and listeners are directed to FunInKeyWest.com for a free walking tour and newsletter trivia drawing. 00:00 Welcome to Fun in Key West 01:26 Historic Marker Monday Begins 03:34 Finding the Old Stone Church 04:26 Key West in the 1800s 05:21 From Living Room to Churches 07:10 Building in Coral Rock 09:01 Cistern and Cemetery Surprise 10:07 Visit Today and Location Tips 11:06 Walking Tour and Newsletter 12:26 Final Wrap Up and Goodbye