St. Mark A.M.E. Zion, “Free Hill”

St. Mark A.M.E. Zion, “Free Hill”. Southeast Tennessee Religious Heritage Trail. Freedom had been a long time coming for three to four million African American men, women, and children. During a period of turmoil and strife in antebellum America, when racism and discrimination were widely prevalent, enslaved African Americans placed their hope in freedom for future generations., During the 1850's and 1860's, African Americans settled in the Athens area. There were some that had not been slaves and some that had been granted the status as free men. They settled in a community in the northern part of the city. This community was named “Free Hill.” The church property was deeded to the church by two African-Americans of Cherokee descent that had never been slaves. Descendants from some of the first settlers lived in the community until the late 1960's when Urban Renewal removed the majority of vestige of “Free Hill” and changed the total look of the community., St. Mark AME Zion Church, once called the Freedom Church is the only visible reminder of a historic community that was lost, but not forgotten. The Church was built in the late 1860's by one of its pastors. St. Mark has served as a school, a recreation center, and a meeting place for the African American Community. The memories that hallow the halls of St. Mark AME Zion Church capture the essence and the visage of a community treasured by all., "Some men see things that are not and ask why. I dream things that never were and ask why not." , Robert Francis Kennedy, Captions , (Left) The first Church. , (Right, top) After renovation. , (Right, bottom) Present facility.