Our History
- Florida was a rural Territory, with large farms and plantations.
- John A. Sutton was born on February 8, 1818 in Hamilton County, Florida.
- 1845 - Florida became a State (considered a slave state)
- 1845 - The Methodist Florida Conference was organized.
- The State's economy was based on cattle and crops.
- John A. Sutton married Mary Caroline Law April 4, 1849 in Brooksville, Florida.
- January 10, 1861 - Florida seceded from the Union
- American Civil War - 1861 to 1865
- John A. Sutton served in the Florida Volunteers, under Captain Law.
- Sutton served as a Hernando County Commissioner in 1864 and 1866.
- Florida - acted as the "Supplier of the Confederacy"
- Estimated 16,000 Floridians fought in the war, and 5,000 Floridian soldiers died.
- July 25, 1868 - Florida rejoined The United States.
- Sharecropping sustained both freed slaves and plantation owners in Florida during this time.
- 1869 - Curlew Church was organized by John A. Sutton.
- Nov. 16, 1869 - The first Curlew Church building was dedicated.
- 1882 - The Church building burned to the ground.
- 1883 - The second building was completed after worshiping for a year under the oak trees on the East side of the cemetery.
1902 - The second building was torn down in favor of a third building, which is still on the property and currently used as a Thrift Shop.
