Mt. Zion Methodist Church

Inspired by visits from traveling preachers, African Americans in Woodstock organized what would become Mt. Zion United Methodist Church ca. 1867. The congregation acquired the framework of a former German Reformed church in 1869, moved it to this site, and used it to construct a sanctuary. In a town segregated by race, this church was the center of the African American neighborhood and hosted religious, educational, political, and social events. After black residents campaigned for a school building, Woodstock's first African American public school was built on the church lot in 1882. The congregation constructed a new sanctuary here in 1921 under the leadership of the Rev. W. H. Polk.