Mount Zion Primitive Baptist Church

Mount Zion Primitive Baptist Church

The Mount Zion Primitive Baptist Church was founded in the late 1800s by pioneer African-American families from northern Florida and Georgia who settled in the small Tangerine community. These families included the Staling brothers, who came to Florida around 1870, and the four Woodbury brothers, their parents and sister, in 1880. Prince Williams arrived from Georgia in 1885. Soon after, Ben Thomas, June Gamble, and John Terrell arrived from Georgia. Jack Jackson, Thomp Jackson, Taylor Jackson, and Steve Holliday came to Tangerine from Tallahassee.

All received homestead land under the condition that they improve it. In 1896, a small one-room school and church were built on a hilltop of orange trees across U.S. 441, along with a cemetery. Pioneers Julia, her husband Richard Woodbury, and her brother Archie built the church, hauling lumber by wagon from Sanford, about 20 miles away. The first Sunday School teacher was a white pioneer, Preston Barnett. The Mount Zion Primitive Baptist Church has become a symbol of community unity since its beginning.

Destroyed, Rebuilt, and Moved

Years later, the original church burned to the ground, but the community joined together to rebuild the quaint Mount Zion Primitive Baptist Church in 1926. Since then, the church has been moved twice. In 1953, it was dragged 400 feet to the north along what was then Wood Road. Due to its location in the path of the construction of U.S. 441, it was moved again, this time to its current location on Old Highway 441, not far from its previous location.

In 1964, the Reverend Willie Johnson, pastor of the Mount Zion Primitive Baptist Church, pleaded for members’ assistance in restoring and modernizing “the little wooden church on the curve.” Norma Williams, whose father-in-law was pioneer Prince Williams and known for her civil efforts in the black community, met with local community leaders to make such improvements on the old landmark possible.

Western Auto and McCrory’s donated paint for the interior, exterior, and roof, along with ladders, brushes, etc. Food Fair fed the congregation and sixty other volunteers who worked tirelessly one Saturday afternoon building restrooms, dressing rooms, and a septic tank.

Decline and Abandonment

At its peak, the church’s membership was comprised of 23 families, but as years went by, members either died or moved away. By 2015, only four members remained, one of which was Beaulah Babbs, who currently owns the church.

Abandoned for over 10 years, time and the elements have taken their toll on the building. The tower was wrapped in sheets of corrugated metal to keep out the elements, birds had made nests inside the hymnal racks, and vandals had stolen things, notably a kerosene lamp that had been part of the church for over 80 years. An effort was undertaken to preserve the church, and with the help of community members, $7,200 was raised to secure the building from further vandalism.

On December 17, 2016, a service was held at the church, the first in over a decade. Continued updates on the Primitive Baptist Church’s preservation and restoration were posted on their Facebook page, Friends of Mount Zion. However, their last update was in September 2017, following Hurricane Irma, before the page was inaccessible. The church has since been boarded up and remains vacant.

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