ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — The Altamonte Chapel in Seminole County has a problem that its few dozen parishioners say they hope someone can fix soon, before it’s too late.

What You Need To Know

  • The Altamonte Chapel was built in 1885 near Lake Brantley and moved to its current location by covered wagon piece by piece in 1905

  • The bell tower at the top of the church is leaning and needs to be refurbished. It’s going to cost a lot of money to fix

  • The tiny church only has 36 parishioners and does not have the funds to make the repairs

  • The church board is asking for donations at the Save the Altamonte Chapel bell GoFundMe site

The bell tower at the top of the church is leaning and needs to be refurbished. 

“As you can see, it’s leaning to the left. And all that wood needs to come down," church board member Tammy Snook Quezada said as she pointed to the top of the chapel. "The bell needs to be refurbished, and it’s going to cost a lot of money to do that.”

The church was originally built in 1885 near Lake Brantley, and it was moved piece by piece by covered wagon in 1905 to its current location along State Road 436 in Altamonte Springs.

“It’s iconic. It’s considered a historical site," Quezada said. "And we have the responsibility to keep it in good working condition.”

Church board members are not sure how much it’s going to cost to fix the bell tower, but they are currently taking bids on the project. The bell tower is only reachable by an experienced repair company that specializes in that kind of work.

The chapel only has 36 parishioners.

“We have all given what we can to support the refurbishment of the bell," Quezada said. "We want to save the bell, but we need help from the community to do that.”

Their goal is to preserve as much they can with the project, like they have done with the inside of the chapel.

“This is the original wood, for instance. The stained-glass windows are original," Quezada said. "There is a lot of history. We have had presidents attend services in here.”

Church board members say the place of worship is open to everyone, and services are still held on Sundays. 

The church board set up a Save the Altamonte Chapel Bell GoFundMe page and leaders say they hope community members can donate to help fund the repairs.

The Altamonte Chapel, or any other third-party fundraiser, is not managed by Spectrum News 13. For more information on the chapel, go to its website or for more about the Save the Chapel Bell project, go to the GoFundMe page.