Mount Zion Missionary Baptist on Gretna Home Tour, April 22

Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church is a prominent fixture on old Gretnas Huey P. Long Avenue. Its brick facade is enhanced by an impeccably kept yard enclosed in a wrought iron fence on the corner of Seventh Street. This year, to the delight of members of the church, it will be open to the public for the Gretna Historical Society Spring Tour of Homes on April 22.

Built in the early 1800s, the original structure, a small, white, wood-frame building, had a humble beginning at its present location, Mount Zions Historical Society Committee member Patricia Rodgers said.

It served many purposes in the community under its original name, the First African Baptist Church. In the early years, the building served the community in secular roles in addition to serving as a church, ministering to the spiritual needs of the community.

It fulfilled such roles as a school for African-Americans and as the first African-American silent movie theatre run by a gentleman named Mr. Hines, Rodgers said.

After a split among the congregation, some members followed the pastor serving at that time, the Rev. Dennis, to a new location.

In 1872, under the leadership of the Rev. Charles Matthews, the remainder of the congregation formed the present-day Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church.

In late 1914, the church was severely damaged, first from a storm, then a fire.

The rebuilding after these tragedies was overseen by the Rev. Matthews before his death in 1915.

In the mid-1980s during a major renovation, some interior wall boards were removed, exposing some of the charred remains from the fire in 1914.

The original structure starts from the pulpit and ends at the current entrance. The choir stand and baptismal pool behind the pulpit were added at a later date.

See original here:
Mount Zion Missionary Baptist on Gretna Home Tour, April 22