St. Mary's Episcopal Church began in a little hand-me-down building in downtown Stuart. It was consecrated by Bishop John Durham Wing in January 1932 during the depths of the Great Depression.  As Stuart grew the congregation outgrew the facilities and our present property was acquired through the generosity of Mrs. William Barstow of Jupiter Island. Ground was broken for the current church building in the fall of 1949, and Bishop Henry Louttit presided over opening services on Palm Sunday, April 2, 1950.  St. Mary's Church, previously a mission, gained full parish status in 1951. 

Father Arthur A. Smith served as rector for 25 years and he led St. Mary's through many changes while working closely with St. Monica's Church in East Stuart, and helped to establish St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Port Salerno, and the Church of the Advent in Palm City. 

Through the years there were many additions and alterations to the church. Smith Hall and the Cracker Barrel thrift shop were constructed in 1974. The Cracker Barrel has been operated by the Episcopal Church Women since 1961. Beside its numerous uses by the congregation, Smith Hall is the primary site for our community outreach program for hundreds of our neighbors participating in numerous programs: AlAnon, AA, NarcAnon, Spanish Class, to name a few. Mary’s Kitchen began feeding needy people in our community in October 1994 and continues to serve 200 every Wednesday. For 29 years St. Mary's Preschool provided an excellent program for the community but closed its doors in 1994 when the need was no longer a priority and our own congregation needed space. 

Since Father Thomas T. Pittenger II became our Rector in 1991 the size of our congregation has doubled, and thus more space was needed for our many ministries, as well as more worship services to accommodate our expanded membership. The opportunity to “Save Our Future” occurred when the former Martin County Library became available for purchase in 1999, and there we built the Parish Life Center which was completed in April 2001. To provide room for more young families and their children the congregation embarked on a program in 2003 to “Shape Our Future” by building a new nursery and a Youth Ministry Building. Just as the earlier members of St. Mary’s provided for our needs, so we are now providing the facilities for future families to hear for many years to come the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All of this promises a future rich with opportunities to GROW INTO JESUS AND REACH OUT WITH LOVE”.