The History of Mt. Zion Baptist Church
By Lloyd Wayne Franks

Lloyd Wayne Franks (1939-1991) prepared a history of the early years of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church. It was delivered twice, first as a part of the program celebrating the 135th anniversary of the Church in 1962, and second as published in the Grant County News in 1963. There are some minor differences between the two.

There is a difference between the provisions of the Articles of Faith set forth in both of his histories as the first articles of faith adopted by the Church and the provisions of the first articles of faith most likely to be adopted, based on church history and local history at that time. Since there is no known written record earlier than 1897 of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church surviving today, it is not likely which provisions of the first article of faith to be adopted will ever be known.

Uncertain of the accuracy of the provisions of the Article of Faith quoted in Mr. Franks' histories, it is omitted. Otherwise, his histories are reprinted herein with only minor corrections.

"The project of writing the early history of the Mt. Zion Baptist church poses an interesting problem because no church records prior to 1900 are in existence. Therefore other sources such as other church records, church and state histories and accounts given by older citizens were used in carrying out this project. I personally would like to thank Dr. Carl Fields, Mr. and Mrs. A. T. Johnson, Brother Leftwich, and the Smith Family whose cooperation and advice have made this research possible.

"In order for us to understand the early history, we need to know something of the society of 1790, the year the first house was constructed (in the community). At this time, George Washington was still president. Kentucky was still a part of Virginia, and there were 14 states in the United States. The nearest town at that time was two forts, Ft. Washington, where Cincinnati now stands, and Campbell's Blockhouse, whose site is noe occupied by Dry Ridge. These forts had been built for protection against Indian attacks. A wagon road ran to Fort Washington from Lexington. All the land now occupied by the town of Mt. Zion was part of 44,000 acres owned by John W. Craig, one of the founders of Transylvania College.

"The earliest setter was John Franks, born in Michigan Territory. With his father, he built the first house in 1790 on the site of the house now occupied by Paul and Ruthie Glass. The Smith Family came from Ireland and settled in Mt. Zion in 1801. Christian Tomlin, who was born in Germany in 1781, came to Mt. Zion from Culpeper County in Virginia in 1827.

By 1827, with the settlement of many new families in the area, there was felt a need for the establishment of a Baptist Church in the neighborhood. The closest churches were hal a day's ride from the settlement. Messengers were sent to Ten Mile and Dry Ridge Baptist Church in April 1827. On May 19, 1827, the Church was constituted, and the original reenrollment consisted of 19 members.

Rules of Decorum By Which The Church Members Were Governed:
1. The Church is to meet the first Saturday for the purpose of conducting business, and the first Sabbath for the purpose of conducting worship each month at the hour of ten.
2. The Church meeting is to be opened and closed by prayer.
3. There shall be a moderator chosen by the Church who shall keep order during the business meeting and invite members of other churches to share in the meeting with us.
4. The Church shall have a clerk whose duty it shall be to keep a record of all the business transacted by the Church and read the minutes of the day at the conclusion of the business meeting.
5. All business in the church is to be transacted by a majority vote, except receiving and dismissing members, which shall require a unanimous vote.
6. No member shall speak more than twice upon one subject unless he or she has the permission of the Church and members speaking shall rise to their feet and address the moderator with brotherly kindness.
7. Members who shall be guilty of public transgressions shall make a public acknowledgement before the Church.
8. We adopt the eighteenth chapter of Matthew in dealing with all disorderly members in private cases before it is brought into the church.
9. We deem it necessary that any member who shall move out of the bounds of the community shall take his letter.
10. The Church is to partake of the Lord's Supper twice each year, in April and October.
11. Each member missing three meetings in succession shall give a reasonable excuse of their unfaithfulness.
12. The Church is to be supported by taxing each male member the sum of fifty-cents for a renter, one dollar for each landlord, and one dollar fifty-cents if the landowner had a Negro bondsman. The sum is to be paid at the end of each year in gold pieces or whiskey.

"A Word of explanation might be needed concerning the whiskey. In 1827, the paper money was worthless and wasn't accepted for payment for debts. Silver or gold money was practically nonexistent. Whiskey was valuable and was used as money during those times. Supposedly, the pastor was to receive 2 gallon per month, but the Church never paid him at all because they wanted to escape paying the federal tax on whiskey.

"The first pastor, David Lillard, was  one of the most powerful Baptist leaders who ever lived in this part of the sate. He was ordained at Ten Mile in 1817 where he served as pastor for 42 years. During this time, Ten Mile's membership grew from 40 to 400. In addition to being the key figure in the organization of this church and serving as pastor for 28 years, he was instrumental in organizing the Ten Mile Association and was moderator for 30 years, baptizing 4000 people. Our first pastor lived on a beautiful farm near Napoleon and owned a large number of Negro slaves. He was what is known as a circuit rider. His circuit included Ten Mile, Mt. Zion, Poplar Grove, and Oakland. Each of these four churches in the circuit would have services once a month. David Lillard was a large man, clean-shaven, had piercing eyes, and would ride to church on horseback with his Bible and other traveling necessities in saddlebags. He died in 1861 and is buried behind the Ten Mile Church.

"The first Mt. Zion Church stood exactly where the present building stands. The church ground originally consisted of two acres, and was purchased from John Franks for the sum of one dollar. The first building was constructed of logs and measured approximately 25 by 30 feet. There were two windows on each side, each window containing 12 panes of glass and covered by heavy shutters. Glass was so scarce the shutters were closed when the building was not in use, so as to prevent breakage. The single door in front, floor, benches and pulpit were built of hand-hewn boards.

"The church united with the North Bend Association in 1828, from which it was dismissed to become a constitutional member of the Ten Mile Association inn 1831.

"Church services, held once each month, began 10 A.M. and lasted well into the afternoon. A picnic lunch was served at noon, while the preacher took a well-deserved break. THe noon hour was a time for gossip and exchange of news. Singing was conducted without instruments, and for the benefit of those who could not read, the pastor would read each verse then the congregation would sing it. The song books were small and contained only the words to the song. The afternoon sermon would last two to three hours, but was dismissed in the wintertime so people could go home and feed the livestock.

"Revival meetings usually held in August were attended by overflow crowds, who, when the church was filled would sit on the lawn. People would come for several miles to hear the preacher, visit relatives, and discuss the crops and the weather. The visiting speaker was paid in pork, beef, wild game, or very rarely, gold specie. The church as enjoyed many precious revivals. The "Great Revival" which swept the entire Association in 1842 resulted in church receiving 109 new members by baptism. In 1849, 54 members were received; in 1853, 60 members; 80 members in 1854; and 75 in 1866. In 1854 the Church membership reached a high of almost two hundred. A new pastor, J. W. Lee, was called after the disability of David Lillard. Serving for nearly twenty years, Elder Lee's circuit included Mt. Zion, Ten Mile, Oakland, and Clarks Creek. He also rode to church on horseback. He was a tall, thin man with white hair and a long, white beard.

"A few large landowners in Mt. Zion had from one to three families of Negro slaves. These slaves were well treated because one slave cost from $1000 to $2000, moreover, the church excluded any one who mistreated their bondsmen, since they were members of the church and fellow Christians.

"In the late 1850s a new church building was erected to replace the log structure. This building had 4 windows on each side and two doors in front, one for men and one for women. The pulpit was in front between the two doors. Anyone entering had to walk past the pulpit and in front of the congregation to find his seat. This procedure discouraged tardiness. The seats were divided; the men sitting on one side and the women on the other.

"When the Crittenden Baptist Church was constituted in the 1850s the old circuit route was abolished. Crittenden and Mt. Zion Churches shared the same pastor and went from quarter-time to half-time preaching.

"The Civil War caused the Church a great deal of trouble. J. C. Tomlin freed his slaves and joined the North, while many of the other people joined the South. There was always a fear of a raid. Fear of raids caused the people to remain home; therefore, church services were suspended for many months until the immediate danger had passed. On September 5, 1862, the Southerners, under Kirby Smith, attempted to capture Cincinnati with 15,000 men. The Union forces had 7,000 infantry, 1,000 cavalry and 8 pieces of artillery. The Northern forces camped for the night at Bracht, while the Southern forces camped at Crittenden. The Confederate forces always supplied themselves by foraging that is, helping themselves to the farmer's food and supplies. This brought several troops through Mt. Zion looking for food. The next day when the Confederates retreated to Cynthiana, many passed through town on their way to Dry Ridge to avoid confusion. Mrs. Belle Conrad Smith told that these troops stopped by her father's farm and asked him to feed each soldier one slice of country ham and two slices of homemade bread. The Captain put a table across the front door and had the soldiers march across the porch to get their food. he explained that if all the soldiers were in the house, they would wear out the carpets.

"The Mt. Zion Baptist Church was the mother of or influential in the establishment of the following seven churches: Macedonia, 1843; Clarks Creek, 1846; Crittenden, 1850; Vine Run, 1859; Concord, 1856; Sherman, 1924; and Elliston, 1951.

"In the years from 1860 to 1890, when the Church was on half-time preaching,t he pastor was placed on a regular salary and developments were made toward establishing Sunday School for the children and young people. All day services were abolished when half-time preaching went into effect.

"This brings us to the point where our official Church records are kept. There are many more interesting and important events of the Church that time doesn't permit me to mention. I will make one exception and mention that Mrs. Daisy Sams, a devoted Sunday School teacher and Church worker for over 40 years died and left the Church $250. This money was used to buy our 1800-pound bell, the largest in several counties. Our Church since its founding has always been a lighthouse of the gospel and has kept God's service its primary function. Today, our Church is exactly 135 years old, well into the second century of carrying out the marching orders of our Savior."

The History of Mt. Zion Baptist Church
Mt. Zion, Kentucky, 1827-2002
John B. Conrad, Editor
Used with permission of Mr. Conrad