Bula Baptist Mission, A Farewell

The front of the church.

Last Saturday a small group of us met at the old Bula Baptist Mission Church in Copeland, Florida to sketch this historical structure before it meets the demolition crew.  Bula Mission was built in the 1940’s of the cypress wood that was being logged out of the nearby cypress domes and strands.  You may remember that an earlier post reported my visit to a different church in Copeland last March, which is still standing over on Church Street. 

Bula Baptist Mission was built at a time when racial segregation was the norm in the South; it was a church for Black services, while the Whites attended the church down the road.  When segregation ended, Bula Baptist Mission closed, and all races attended the Baptist Church on Church Street.  Reverend Gilmore, the pastor of the Baptist Church, told us during our visit in March that their church was one of the first fully integrated churches in the county during the early 1960’s, with a congregation of Blacks, Whites, Native Americans, and Hispanics.

Our sketching group was kept small, out of respect for the surrounding residential neighborhood, and we met early to avoid the Florida heat and humidity.  I had a chance to do two small plein air paintings, one in my new Strathmore watercolor sketchbook, and one in my Pentalic Nature Sketch pad.  Both worked well with the Daniel Smith travel set I created.  The Strathmore paper has great lifting properties, so I could clean up a few mis-strokes later. 

The church itself used to be a one-room structure, with small bathrooms added later just off the front entryway.  At one time, it was hoped that the building could be restored and used for community events, but the cost is too great.  I believe the current plan is to salvage as much as possible, then demolish it.  If anyone has any information to add, please comment below, or email me and I’ll update this post.  I love old structures, and feel sad that this one won’t be around for much longer.

It was a lovely summer's day, although quite hot as the sun crept up to its zenith.  The church is overgrown with lush vegetation and there were butterflies everywhere: swallowtails, sulphurs, and gulf fritillaries.  Two red-shouldered hawks patrolled the sky overhead.  Painting bliss!  

It was an honor to be able to spend a few hours painting the Bula Baptist Mission, and I thank Karen Relish and Marya Repko for making it possible.  Thank you too, for visiting!

Real natural Florida

Spent Florida butterfly
orchid blooms.

Florida is a constantly changing state.  It seems as is many if the people you meet are transplants from another location, although the rare natives (those born here) can be met.  I’m related to an old Naples family by marriage, and believe me, they’ve seen a LOT of change in our little section of Florida.

To many people, Florida reflects back a kind of kitsch – fantasy theme parks, giant papier-mâché oranges atop roadside stands, cypress-knee lamps, and hot pink plastic flamingos on wire legs.  Those with a passing interest in our flora and fauna marvel at palm trees and alligators, crystal-clear springs and giant ferns. 

I’d like to invite you to slow down even more, and take a closer look at the real natural Florida. 

Leopard frog.

Florida is a long state, surrounded on three sides by salt water.  In the interior are numerous fresh-water lakes, springs, creeks, rivers, and marshes that mostly flow gently southwards.  Underneath it all is a limestone base called karst.  Karst is characterized by cracks, caves, and flowing underground water – and the reason for our famous sinkholes.

The center peninsular part of the state has higher ridges that were once coastal dunes, and much of south Florida was once part of the ocean floor.  What lies beneath also determines what lies above.  For example, a typical pine flatwoods habitat occurs on low, flat, and sandy soils.  South Florida rocklands feature outcroppings of pockmarked limestone, creating tropical hammock islands of vegetation amid lower marshy areas. 

Florida tree snail.

Cypress domes are shaped by the ground below.  A depression or sinkhole forms in the limestone, and fills with water and organic material.  Taller cypresses grow toward the center, while shorter trees grow around the rim.  Sometimes the center is open where the water is too deep for even cypress trees.  The “dome” shape mirrors what is happening below. 

Red maple,
a wetland tree.

Underneath the glamour of big city life in Miami, the Mickey Mouse ears in Orlando, and the beaches all along the 1,350 miles of coastline, beats the heart of natural Florida.  We have upland forests next to Alabama and Georgia, and subtropical and tropical swamps, hammocks, flatwoods, scrub, prairies, and estuaries.  There is a remarkable diversity of plant, animal, and insect species throughout our state.

Start with your own backyard, can you tell what was once there before your home was built?  Look at your neighborhood; are there remnants of a pine flatwoods (like mine), or a scrub oak community?  What small wonders do you see living in your area that have adapted to what is present now?  A snail, songbirds, anoles, butterflies…perhaps a stray opossum or black snake?

The drawings are in mechanical pencil on Bristol board, done years ago for an article in The Palmetto, for the Florida Native Plant Society.   

I rediscovered them while looking through some old artwork for another project.  The drawings and article reminded me that many people who live here don’t get a chance to connect to Florida’s unique landscape and history.

Barred owl.