Our Humble Beginnings
Mount Zion Baptist Church was established in 1824 with 16 charter members in Pike County, Alabama, just south of Josie. Initially, services took place in a log building until 1840. In 1839, the Conecuh River Baptist Association experienced a schism over mission work, leading Mount Zion and several other churches to withdraw. The association's resolution of October 1839 declared: "We will not hold in union any church that holds any member in her that is affiliated with the following institutions: Theological Schools, State Conventions, Missionary Societies, Bible Societies, Tract Societies, or any Society supporting missionary activities as existing in the United States." Seventeen churches supported this resolution, while eight opposed it, including Liberty, Fellowship, Salem, Sardis, Clayton, Mount Zion, New Providence, and Bethel. These eight churches, dissatisfied with the stance on missions, left the Conecuh River Baptist Association and identified themselves as Missionary Baptists.
A faction of Mount Zion members, unhappy with this decision, chose to leave and founded Ramah Primitive Baptist Church on September 7, 1840. The remaining Missionary Baptists retained the name Mount Zion. In the early 1840s, the original log building was dismantled and relocated across Pea River to Barbour County, where services were initially held under a brush arbor until the church could be rebuilt. By 1845, Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church had settled at its current location at the corner of County Road 9 and Caraway Lane.
On October 5, 1851, Mount Zion hosted the 13th Annual Meeting of the Salem Baptist Association and was subsequently admitted to the association. It remained a member until October 1885. In 1890, Mount Zion joined the Eufaula Baptist Association, which is now known as the Barbour Baptist Association.
Early Church Buildings
In 1895, Mount Zion Church constructed a new wood-frame building. Lumber was transported by mule-drawn wagons from Louisville, Alabama, and the building was erected by Mr. R.A. Kelly. The church featured two front doors and three sections of pews: women and younger children sat on the right side, men on the left, and young people and unmarried couples in the center. The pulpit was positioned on the center of the back (west) wall, with a pump organ directly in front of it. A wood-burning heater was placed between the congregation and the organ. Pews on the left (south) side were designated as the Amen corner, while those on the right (north) side served as the choir area. In 1939, electric lights were installed. The building suffered damage from tornadoes in 1933 and 1944, leading the congregation to vote on February 11, 1945, to construct a new sanctuary.
The new building, erected just south of the 1895 structure, was slightly larger. Lumber for the new church was purchased from Mr. Arthur Green, with Mr. T.R. Sanders serving as the contractor. The old church and the two-story Woodsmen of the World Building were demolished, and the lumber from both was repurposed for the new construction. The new building featured a vaulted ceiling, two front doors, four windows on the south side, and three windows plus a door on the north side.
In 1950, Sunday school rooms, including the first indoor restrooms, were added to the rear of the building. Further expansions in 1956 included the addition of two Sunday school rooms and a vestibule at the front, the installation of asbestos siding, and the addition of the first air conditioners. By 1970, a fellowship hall was constructed, and the sanctuary underwent a significant remodel, including a complete redesign of the pulpit area.
The church experienced another major renovation in 1981 and 1982, which included installing new round-top frosted glass windows, closing and replacing the north door with a window, removing back windows on both the north and south sides, enclosing the choir loft, installing new doors and stained choir rails, removing wainscoting, adding a new steeple, and replacing all sheetrock. The original front doors were closed off, and new pews and wall-to-wall carpeting were added.
In the late 1980s, the fellowship hall was expanded with new restrooms, a nursery, and a larger fellowship room. A severe hailstorm in March 2005 damaged all the windows on the south side of the church. The subsequent extensive remodeling included new lighting, stained glass windows, replacement siding, conversion of the front Sunday school rooms into a pastor’s study and audio control room, removal of old gas space heaters, and repainting of the choir rail.
Our Church Singings
The annual Sacred Harp Sing at Mount Zion, held on the second Sunday in May, consistently drew large crowds. A newspaper article from 1894 reported that over 1,500 people attended the all-day sing and dinner-on-the-ground homecoming event.
The original baptismal pool for Mount Zion was situated across the road, beneath the old oak trees at the Huey Lee Sanders property. Initially constructed of wood and later replaced by a cement block structure, this pool, fed by a natural spring, remained in use until a baptismal font was installed in the church sanctuary in 1970. The spring was renowned for its frigid water, a fact well remembered by many long-time members of Mount Zion. Today, a flowerbed surrounded by railroad ties marks the location of the old baptismal pool.
Mount Zion’s cemetery began while the church was still in Pike County, south of Josie. Known as the First Mount Zion Cemetery, Old Ramah, or Renfroe Cemetery, it remains in use. As of 1982, the cemetery contained 70 graves, with 54 marked and 16 unmarked.
The current Mount Zion Church Cemetery, located at the intersection of County Road 9 and Caraway Lane, approximately 10 miles west of Louisville, Alabama, has expanded several times. The oldest marked grave belongs to Matthias C. Taylor (1788-1860), although a grave marked only by a pile of rocks, believed to be that of a child named Lee, is said to be the oldest in the cemetery.
The cemetery is divided into several sections: [1] the new section, east of the original road to the colored cemetery; [2] the colored cemetery, located on the north side of the property; [3] the old cemetery, situated between the original road, the colored cemetery, the back access road, and the churchyard; and [4] the old cemetery west of the back access road.