A Community Meeting Place

The First United Methodist Church purchased this property, which was the original site of the First Presbyterian Church built in 1914. The church was relocated to 250 Bell Avenue.  Subsequently, the Carlton family purchased the old brick building and quickly converted it into the popular “Carlton’s Grocery and Market.” 

Carlton’s closed in 1998 and the building sat abandoned and eventually needed to be demolished. The Methodist Church and others in the community felt that the lot’s history and location warranted something special be done with the site that would not only enhance the city’s colorful history and charm but more importantly draw churches and people to God and to each other. After 24 months of discussion and research, plans were finalized for construction of THE BROOKSVILLE COMMON (Webster’s Dictionary defines Common as “a special plot of land chosen for the purpose of serving and sharing a community’s common interests.”  The groundbreaking was held Aug. 21, 2013, with the Dedication Ceremony held just nine months later on May 1, 2014. Highlights include a lighted metal sculpted and stone Tree of Life and Living Water. Other points of interest are nearly 400 memorial bricks in memory of many old families, benches, tables. There are several tributes to the First Presbyterian Church, which was originally on this site—a black granite memorial inlaid at the foot of the huge surface Cross and the two brick walls at the entrance to the Common constructed of salvaged bricks from the old church.