• Menu
  • Menu
Mt. Zion Primitive Baptist Church | Photo © Bullet 2016, www.abandonedfl.com

Mt. Zion Primitive Baptist Church

City/Town:
Location Class:
Built: 1926 | Abandoned: 2015
Historic Designation: African American Heritage Site
Status: Abandoned
Photojournalist: David Bulit

Webp.net resizeimage 1
Undated photograph of the church at its current location, near the entrance to Mount Dora.

The Mount Zion Primitive Baptist Church was first founded in the late-1800s by pioneer African-American families from northern Florida and Georgia. The original church was built in 1896 along with a cemetery on a hilltop of orange trees across US 441. Pioneers Julia and Richard Woodbury and her brother Archie, hauled lumber from Sanford located about 20 miles away, with a wagon to build the original church.

When the original church burned down, the current building was constructed in 1926 by the congregation. In 1953, the church was dragged 400 feet to the north along what was then Wood Road. Due to it being located in the path of the construction of US 441, it was moved to its current location on Old 441, not far from its previous location.

At its peak, its membership was comprised of 23 families but as years went by, members either died, moved away, or simply lost interest. By 2015, only four members remained, one being 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 of the hymnal racks, and vandals had stolen things, notably a kerosene lamp which 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, though their last update was in September 2017 following Hurricane Irma before the page was no longer accessible. The church has since been boarded up and remains vacant.

Bullet

David Bulit is a photographer, author, and historian from Miami, Florida. He has published a number of books on abandoned and forgotten locales throughout the United States and continues to advocate for preserving these historic landmarks. His work has been featured throughout the world in news outlets such as the Miami New Times, the Florida Times-Union, the Orlando Sentinel, NPR, Yahoo News, MSN, the Daily Mail, UK Sun, and many others. You can find more of his work at davidbulit.com as well as amazon.com/author/davidbulit.

View Locations

Copyright © 2009- - Abandoned Atlas Foundation - board@AbandonedAtlas.com | Designed By Prairie Nation Creative, LLC - Disclaimer

%d bloggers like this: