Our church was established in 1925 by founding pastor O.T. Anderson. Initial services were held in the Ritz Theater and later the Arcade Theater. Our current meetinghouse bears the name of inventor-genius, Thomas A. Edison, who was a close personal friend of our Founding Pastor. Mrs. Edison wanted a church built near her home and generously supported its building. In 1930, efforts were made to purchase lots for building the church on this site.  The church is built on four lots, two of which were donated by Mr. & Mrs. Thomas A. Edison. Pastor Anderson was a close friend of Thomas A. Edison and the two would often engage in philosophical discussions.  On November 1, 1931, within a few days of Mr. Edison’s death, the Church opened for worship.  Mrs. Edison and her sister, Mrs. Hitchcock, attended faithfully as long as they lived.

In 1964, the congregation received permission from Charles Edison to change the name of the church to the Thomas A. Edison Congregational Church in honor of his father.  changing the name was based on the interest the Edison’s had for the church at its inception and for the close relationship between Mr. Edison and Rev. Anderson. In 1976, the church was declared a historical site by the Florida State House of Representatives.

Congregational Churches originated in England in the 16th Century, though they were not called Congregational until the 18th Century.  Some in the state-controlled Church sought to reform the church from within and were called Puritans.  Others left the established Church and became known as Separatists. A group of Separatists sailed to America in 1620 on the Mayflower.  We know them as the Pilgrims.  In time, Puritans arrived to found the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  There they united with the Separatist Pilgrims laying the groundwork for the founding of many Congregational Churches.