Murfreesboro in Rutherford County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church

Est. 1872

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, December 7, 2024

1. Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church marker

Inscription. Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church has been a downtown Murfreesboro landmark since 1884. Led by Rev. Jimmy Stewart in 1872, the congregation grew out of the earlier First Colored Baptist Church and held services in a rented building on Maple Street before acquiring this lot in 1879. Four years later, the present brick Gothic-styled church was finished. During the Jim Crow town, the church met many community needs. Pastor from 1949 to 1968, the Rev. H.L. Jordan led the church during the Civil Rights Movement. After a 1968 tornado, the congregation chose to repair and restore the church, keeping the historic sanctuary intact.

Erected 2024 by Tennessee Historical Commission. (Marker Number 3A 264.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Tennessee Historical Commission series list.

Location. 35° 50.88′ N, 86° 23.536′ W. Marker is in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in Rutherford County. It is at the intersection of North

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Maple Street and West Lytle Street, on the right when traveling north on North Maple Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 228 N Maple St, Murfreesboro TN 37130, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee

and in Greater Nashville.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in 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 Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Robert Smith Sanders, M. D. (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Architecture on the Square (about 600 feet away); General Griffith Rutherford (about 600 feet away); Federal Troops on the Square (about 700 feet away); Original Courthouse Step (about 700 feet away); The Founding of the County (about 700 feet away); Murfreesboro Confederate Soldiers Monument (about 700 feet away); Rutherford County Courthouse

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, December 7, 2024

2. Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church and Marker

(about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Murfreesboro.

Credits. This page was last revised on December 8, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 7, 2024, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 140 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 7, 2024, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.