First Zion Baptist Church

Front: This congregation organized around the time of the Civil War to serve formerly enslaved African Americans living in the Bluffton area. It was originally known as First African Baptist Church and was later renamed First Zion. It was founded by Rev. Abraham Murchison, a native of Savannah, Ga. who began preaching along the Sea Islands during the Civil War. Eight trustees secured ownership of this site for the church in 1888. Reverse: The 1888 deed states that “the First African Baptist Church building” was already located on the property at that time. The congregation was an early member of the Mount Carmel Baptist Association, organized in the late 19th century. The wooden church was replaced in 1959 by a concrete block building that was expanded and brick-veneered in the 1960s. It was also later remodeled and still serves the congregation today.