Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church

Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church – The congregation of Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church originated c. 1894, when tradition holds that members began worshipping at a brush arbor across the road. Rev. James Turner was the first pastor. Early church leadership included men and women born enslaved, as well as free. Many were farmers. To accommodate the church’s growing membership, congregants acquired the present site in 1897 and soon after built the original chapel. The first sanctuary was a one-story wood frame clapboard building with a three-story tiered bell tower projecting from the front facade. It was razed after the current church was built in 1986.