St. Elizabeth of Hungary

History of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Barrineau Park

St. Elizabeth of Hungary traces its origins to the Donauschwaben (German-Hungarian) farming families who began settling the Barrineau Park area of northern Escambia County around 1913. They came at the invitation of William Capers Barrineau, who had purchased over 11,000 acres of former turpentine and timber land, and they built their own church — the present St. Elizabeth Catholic Church — around 1922-1923. The parish house was added later, and the adjacent St. Elizabeth's Catholic Cemetery was laid out beside it. As the timber economy faded and the small truck farms dwindled, most of the surrounding settlement reverted to forest, leaving the church and cemetery as the principal surviving landmarks of the original Donauschwaben colony.

Parish Identity and Patron

The church is dedicated to St. Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231), a Hungarian princess who became a Franciscan tertiary and is venerated as the patroness of Hungarian Catholics and Donauschwaben communities worldwide. Her feast day is November 17. The dedication reflects the ethnic and devotional heritage of the immigrant families who built the church.

• Patron: St. Elizabeth of Hungary
• Feast day: November 17

Mass and Service Schedule

As a small rural mission of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, St. Elizabeth of Hungary maintains a single weekly Sunday liturgy, with special services added for funerals and major feasts. The current Sunday Mass is at 8:30 a.m., and the 2026 diocesan Holy Week/Easter schedule lists Good Friday at 4:00 p.m. and Easter Sunday at 8:30 a.m.

• Sunday Mass: 8:30 a.m.
• Good Friday: 4:00 p.m.
• Easter Sunday: 8:30 a.m.

St. Elizabeth's Catholic Cemetery

Adjoining the church on St. Elizabeth Street is St. Elizabeth's Catholic Cemetery, approximately two acres in size and historically containing burials of Austrians, Hungarians and Donauschwabens of German descent. Roughly twenty of the graves are unmarked, but the cemetery is generally regarded as better kept and better marked than most in Escambia County and is an important genealogical site for descendants of the original Barrineau Park settlers.

• Approximately 2 acres
• Contains burials of Austrian, Hungarian and Donauschwaben settlers
• Approximately 20 unmarked graves
• Significant genealogical and cultural landmark

Visiting the Mission

The church is located in rural Molino (also addressed as Barrineau Park) about six miles west of U.S. Route 29. From U.S. 29, turn west onto SR 196 (Barrineau Park Road); after roughly two miles, as SR 196 curves right, continue straight onto St. Elizabeth Street. The church is on the left. Visitors are encouraged to call the parish office at (850) 968-6189 before visiting, especially if planning to tour the historic cemetery.

• Address: 3015 St. Elizabeth St., Molino, FL 32577
• Phone: (850) 968-6189
• Diocese: Pensacola-Tallahassee
• Facebook: facebook.com/StElizabethMolino

Donauschwaben Heritage

The Donauschwaben — often translated as 'Danube Swabians' — are the German-speaking colonists who settled the Hungarian section of the Habsburg lands along the Danube. Many emigrated to the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and a small group of these families were recruited to Barrineau Park to farm cleared timber and turpentine land. St. Elizabeth of Hungary is one of the few remaining physical landmarks of that immigrant Catholic community in northwest Florida.

• Settlement began c. 1913
• Families recruited from Chicago and St. Louis areas
• Roughly 50 farming families founded the Barrineau Park colony
• St. Elizabeth of Hungary is a rare surviving Donauschwaben landmark in the Florida Panhandle