The Vanderpools were one of the original families in Maitland, Florida, with Isaac Vanderpool, the patriarch of the family, buying 160 acres of land in the year 1870. In 1876, after facing a large financial loss and disaster in New York, Isaac and his wife, Harriet Vanderpool, permanently moved to the Maitland area. At the time of their arrival, the area only had about four or five family homesteads and orange groves. Vanderpool was part of the first committee to help incorporate the town of Lake Maitland. The committee included Vanderpool, Henry S. Kedney, George Packwood, and Richard Packwood.

The Vanderpool family was also heavily involved in civic affairs, which included the establishment of the town of Eatonville by Vanderpool and Josiah C. Eaton. The Vanderpools were paricipants in the creation of the Florida Audubon Society and the organization of the Maitland Public Library. Harriet Vanderpool, along with Bishop Henry C. Whipple, founded the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, and, in 1927, she wrote the "Maitland Song," which the chamber of commerce adopted as the official song for the city. In 1887, Vanderpool became Mayor of Maitland and during this time, acquired land for the city first cemetery. In 1892, he built the first packinghouse in Maitland, which was featured in TheGate City Chronicle as the state most modern and best packinghouse.]]>
Maitland Historical Museum, Art & History Museums - Maitland, Maitland, Florida.]]> Maitland Historical Museum, Maitland, Florida.]]> Maitland Historical Museum Collection, Maitland Collection, Orange County Collection. RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Maitland Historical Museum, Art & History Museums - Maitland and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]>

St. James AME Church was a direct result of these two historical patterns. Originally organized in 1867 as a prayer group for freedmen, the church was founded in a small wooden house located on Mellonville Street, along the south shore of Lake Monroe. By 1880, the church relocated to its current location on the corner of East Ninth Street and Cypress Avenue. In 1893, the church upgraded its size, and constructed a larger wooden frame to house its growing congregation.

The present-day structure, which features red-brick facings, four matching stained glass windows, a bell tower, and slanted semi-circular seating within its baptistery, was built between 1910 and 1913, and designed by acclaimed African-American architect Prince W. Spears. During the 1920s and 1930s, St. James served as a Mother Church of the AME faith, and sent circuit preachers to its neighboring areas, including West Sanford, Bookertown, Cameron City, Midway, and Fort Reid. On April 24, 1992, St. James AME Church was a designated as a National Historic Landmark, and continues to serve as a religious center for the surrounding African-American community.]]>
RICHES of Central Florida]]> Churches of Sanford Collection, Sanford Collection, Seminole County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> RICHES of Central Florida.]]> RICHES of Central Florida]]>