Near Spartanburg in Spartanburg County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery
(Front):
Mount Zion Baptist Church, founded as early as 1804 as an affiliated branch of Bethlehem Baptist Church, was formally established in 1827. The cemetery here, dating from 1832, includes the graves of many early church families and of several veterans of the American Revolution and the Civil War.
(Reverse):
Rev. John Gill Landrum (1810-1882), pastor here 1831-1852 and 1863-1882, also served for many years at First Baptist Church in Spartanburg and at Bethlehem, New Prospect, and Wolf Creek as well. He is buried here as is his son J.B.O. Landrum (1844-1901), physician and author of an early history of Spartanburg County.
Erected 2002 by Mt. Zion Cemetery Committee. (Marker Number 42-22.)
Location. 34° 58.633′ N, 82° 3.404′ W. Marker is near Spartanburg, South Carolina, in Spartanburg County. Marker is at the intersection of Mount Zion Road and Campground Road, on the left when traveling north on Mount Zion Road. Touch for map. Mount Zion Baptist Church is across the road from the marker and cemetery. Marker is at or near this postal address: 842 Mount Zion Road, Spartanburg SC 29303, United States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Joshua Hawkins (a few steps from this marker); Edward Bomar (within shouting distance of this marker); Kevin Earl Carper (approx. 1.1 miles away); In Honor of the Students of (approx. 2.9 miles away); Berlin Wall (approx. 3½ miles away); Shiloh Methodist Church (approx. 3.7 miles away); Camp Wadsworth (approx. 4.1 miles away); District Five War Memorial (approx. 4.2 miles away); Colonel Warren H. Abernathy Highway (approx. 4.6 miles away); 15th N.Y. Infantry / Harlem Hell Fighters (approx. 4.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Spartanburg.
Also see . . .
1. Mount Zion Baptist Church | Facebook. (Submitted on February 28, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)
2. Spartanburg County Baptist Network: Mount Zion Baptist Church Histiry. Mount Zion Baptist Church had its beginning as an "arm" of Bethlehem Baptist in 1804 under the ministerial care of the Rev. Thomas Bomar. (Submitted on March 1, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)
Additional comments.
1. Circumstances Around Rev. Landrum's Selection
On the 13th of June, 1830, rev. Thomas Bomar, a good man and excellent preacher, who had long been the pastor of Mount Zion, Bethlehem and New Prospect churches in Spartanburg District, fell dead at the house
of John S. Rowland, by which death the said churches were without a pastor. A committee was appointed by Mount Zion Church, consisting of Dr. John W. Lewis and Edward Bomar, which resulted in the selection of Rev. John G. Landrum, who at one occupied the field made vacant by the lamented Bomar. (Source: pg History of Spartanburg County by John B.O. Landrum, pg 629.)
— Submitted February 28, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.
2. Account of an African American Hung at the Church, August 1868
In August 1868, David Golightly Harris, a white farmer who lived in the vicinity of Spartanburg, South Carolina, recorded his family's attendance at the Association meeting at Mount Zion Baptist Church. Association meetings served as business meetings from regional Baptist churches but also attracted much fanfare and attention among lay people. Lasting for several days and offering morning, afternoon, and evening sermons, these events provided upcountry citizens with opportunities for social interaction as well as spiritual renewal. The Golightly family attended the first day of the meeting in a Saturday, spent Sunday at the home of a local family, and again partook in services on Monday. "There was a great many persons there, all seeming to enjoy usual health and happiness," Harris wrote. The Harris family returned home Monday evening, where Harris heard of further news from the meeting. "Since I came home," the farmer wrote, "I have heard that a negro was hanged at the church until he was almost dead. The negro used insulting language to a white woman." (Source: Vale of Tears: New Essays on Religion and Reconstruction by Edward J. Blum and W. Scott Poole (2005); "Sexuality, Violence, and Religion in Upcountry South Carolina" by Kimberly Kellison, pg 15.)
— Submitted February 28, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.
Categories. • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Churches & Religion • War, US Civil • War, US Revolutionary •

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011
16. Rev. John Gill Landrum
Monument - North Inscription
Monument - North Inscription
earnest, successful
pastor of New
Prospect Church for
half a century now
rests from his labors.
A prince and a great
man's fallen in Israel.
He being dead, yet
speaketh.
Born in Rutherford
Co. Tenn. Oct. 22, 1810

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011
19. Elizabeth Landrum Tombstone
Engraved by W.T. White
Engraved by W.T. White
of
Elizabeth Landrum
Consort of
Rev. J.G. Landrum
who was born
on the 23rd of Sept. 1812
and died
on the 29th of Nov. 1857
----------
She was a member
of the Baptist Church
and a steadfast Christian.
She was faithful unto death.
Her reward is
"A Crown of Life."

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011
25. George Washington Gennings
Tombstone
Tombstone
George Washington
Gennings
who was born 18th
December, 1839, and
died 30th June, 1850
Aged 10 Years
6 Moths, and 12 Days
Suffer little Children
To come unto me,
And forbid them not
For of such is the
Kingdom of God.
----------
George was brought up
by J. & L. Stevens, who
also erected this monument.

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011
26. Joshua Hawkins Monument -
East Inscription
East Inscription
Joshua
Hawkins
A Hero of the
Revolution,
Born 1750,
Died 1832.
He lived and fought
to the Motto of
Liberty or Death.
----------
Erected by Relatives
Patriotic Citizens, and
Cowpens Chapter,
Daughters American
Revolution.

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011
27. Joshua Hawkins Monument -
Northeast Corner
North Inscription
Northeast Corner
North Inscription
hero, till the notes
of Gabriel's trump
shall thrill and echo
throughout eternal
space, when thou wilt
behold a greater battle
than Brandywine when
the platform of Heaven
will be crowded in dazzling
array with the armies
of the "King of Hosts,"
preparing to descend on
the winged clouds of
the air, mid meteors and
flashing scintillations
to the Judgment Seat.
May you be gathered
with Washington and
Lafayette around the
eternal and ever dazzling
Throne of God.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. This page originally submitted on October 12, 2008, by Michael Sean Nix of Spartanburg, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 3,109 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on October 12, 2008, by Michael Sean Nix of Spartanburg, South Carolina. 2. submitted on February 28, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 3. submitted on October 12, 2008, by Michael Sean Nix of Spartanburg, South Carolina. 4, 5. submitted on February 28, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 6. submitted on October 12, 2008, by Michael Sean Nix of Spartanburg, South Carolina. 7. submitted on March 1, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 8, 9, 10. submitted on October 12, 2008, by Michael Sean Nix of Spartanburg, South Carolina. 11, 12, 13. submitted on February 28, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 14. submitted on October 12, 2008, by Michael Sean Nix of Spartanburg, South Carolina. 15, 16, 17, 18, 19. submitted on February 28, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 20. submitted on October 12, 2008, by Michael Sean Nix of Spartanburg, South Carolina. 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31. submitted on February 28, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 32. submitted on March 3, 2009, by Stanley and Terrie Howard of Greer, South Carolina. 33, 34. submitted on March 1, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.