Near Orange in Orange County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Little Zion Baptist Church

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 9, 2021

1. Little Zion Baptist Church Marker

Inscription. At the end of the Civil War, African Americans constituted a majority of the congregation of the white-led Zion Baptist Church, organized nearby in 1813. Exercising newfound autonomy after emancipation, black members withdrew and established Little Zion Baptist Church ca. 1870. The congregation first met in members' houses and then worshipped under a brush arbor before building a frame sanctuary on land donated by the Rev. Allen Banks, the church's second pastor. Many of the early members resided in Goffney Town, Little Egypt, and Little Zion, communities of freedpeople in this vicinity. The congregation moved into a new sanctuary here, 0.3 mile north of the old church, in 2001.

Erected 2020 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number JJ-37.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1813.

Location. 38° 12.844′ N, 78° 6.759′ W. Marker is near Orange, Virginia, in Orange County. It is on Tomahawk Creek Road (Virginia Route 637) 0.1 miles east of Old Gordonsville Road (Route 647), on the right when traveling

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east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 15116 Tomahawk Creek Rd, Orange VA 22960, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Northern Virginia

and in the Piedmont.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Mayhurst (approx. 1.3 miles away); Campaign of Second Manassas (approx. 1.7 miles away); Orange Graded School (approx. 1.8 miles away); Lafayette’s Tour (approx. 2 miles away); Capt. Andrew Maples Jr., Tuskegee Airman (approx. 2 miles away); St. Thomas Church (approx. 2.1 miles away); Gen. R.E. Lee (approx. 2.1 miles away); A Place Called Home (approx. 2.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Orange.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 9, 2021

2. Little Zion Baptist Church Marker

The current church building is visible in the background.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 13, 2021. It was originally submitted on April 11, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 658 times since then and 44 times this year. Last updated on April 12, 2021, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 11, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.