Trifter

About six miles east of where I live near Lake Wales, Florida, off State Road 60, are the ruins of what was  a shrine dedicated to Sainte Anne.  There are two stories of how the shrine was built–one true, one a legend that most people prefer to believe.

According to the more popular story, a Canadian visited the Sunshine State many years ago bringing with him his son who was terminally ill.  While moving from place to place, they made camp near a small lake.  To refresh themselves they went swimming in the cooling waters of the lake and the man noted his son’s condition began to improve until one day he was miraculously cured.

The father attributed the boy’s recovery to the healing waters of what is now known Lake Anne and, without help from another single person, in an oak hammock , erected a shrine to Ste. Anne, a well-loved Canadian saint associated with water.    Included with the shrine was a church and a wondrous array of statues making up the 12 stations of the cross spreading out through the woodland on pathways.   A statue of Ste. Anne stood in the lake itself on an elevated stone platform.  Wonderful legend.

image via wikipedia

Fact then must rear its ugly head.  In truth, the church and shrine were built by early French-speaking Catholics and for decades Floridians from all over the state made pilgrimages to the site.  The most unusual aspect of the shrine’s construction:  it was built entirely of stone–a commodity not found anywhere in the state.  

For reasons unknown to me the Diocese of St. Augustine desanctified the shrine in the 1960s and most of it was removed to prevent vandalism with only some ruins remaining.  The church building was later demolished leaving only the alter shown above.

Today, a small housing development lines the road leading to the site diminishing somewhat any religious experience one might expect.  Only a few people come to visit–mostly locals and mostly out of curiosity.