Near Spartanburg in Spartanburg County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery

By Michael Sean Nix, October 12, 2008

1. Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery Marker

Front of marker

Inscription.
(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

Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery Marker -Front image. Click for full size.

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

2. Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery Marker -Front

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

By Michael Sean Nix, October 12, 2008

3. Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery Marker

Reverse side of marker

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,"

Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery Marker -<br>Reverse image. Click for full size.

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

4. Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery Marker -
Reverse

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 •

Mount Zion Baptist Church and Marker image. Click for full size.

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

5. Mount Zion Baptist Church and Marker

Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery image. Click for full size.

By Michael Sean Nix, October 12, 2008

6. Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery

Cemetery grounds

Rev John Gill Landrum<br>1810-1882 image. Click for full size.

By Brian Scott

7. Rev John Gill Landrum
1810-1882

Signer of the Ordinance of Secession

By Michael Sean Nix, October 12, 2008

8. Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery

Cemetery grounds

By Michael Sean Nix, October 12, 2008

9. Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery

Cemetery grounds

By Michael Sean Nix, October 12, 2008

10. Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery

Cemetery grounds

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

11. Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

12. Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

13. Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery

Grave marker for Rev. John Gill Landrum image. Click for full size.

By Michael Sean Nix, October 12, 2008

14. Grave marker for Rev. John Gill Landrum

Rev. John Gill Landrum<br>Monument - East Inscription image. Click for full size.

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

15. Rev. John Gill Landrum
Monument - East Inscription

Mount Zion
To her beloved
pastor of fifty
years. He shared
our joys &
sorrows. At the
alter. At the tomb.

Rev. John Gill Landrum<br>Monument - North Inscription image. Click for full size.

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

16. Rev. John Gill Landrum
Monument - North Inscription

The faithful
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

Rev. John Gill Landrum<br>Monument - West Inscription image. Click for full size.

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

17. Rev. John Gill Landrum
Monument - West Inscription

Wolf Creek.
A searcher for
truth. He was among
the first in the cause
of Temperance, Sunday
Schools and missions.
Punctual, humble, self-
sacrificing he was
devoted to duty
through a long life.

Rev. John Gill Landrum<br>Monument - South Inscription image. Click for full size.

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

18. Rev. John Gill Landrum
Monument - South Inscription

Bethlehem's
devoted pastor
for 36 years. He led us
into green pastures.
He made ours a house
of spiritual bread.
From our hearts and
homes God took him.
His work remains.

Died at Landrums
S.C. Jan. 19, 1882

Elizabeth Landrum Tombstone<br>Engraved by W.T. White image. Click for full size.

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

19. Elizabeth Landrum Tombstone
Engraved by W.T. White

In Memory
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 Michael Sean Nix, October 12, 2008

20. Grave marker for J.B.O. Landrum

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

21. John Belton O'Neall Landrum
Monument - East Inscription
Dr.
J.B.O. Landrum
1844 - 1901

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

22. John Belton O'Neall Landrum
Monument - North Inscription
A Christian gentleman,
a model husband and
father. A generous
friend and neighbor.
His heart over flowed
with kindness to all.
And his life was a
record of self-sacrifice
and noble deeds.

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

23. John Belton O'Neall Landrum
Monument - West Inscription
Kind and forbearing.
Faithful and true.
Gentle and loving.
He lived and laboured
for others. And his
memory lingers like
sweet incense in the
hearts of those who
knew him.

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

24. John Belton O'Neall Landrum
Monument - South Inscription
Spartanburg's peerless
historian, unselfish
citizen soldier
and statesman. His
life was a benediction
and his works
do follow him.

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

25. George Washington Gennings
Tombstone
In Memory of
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
Here lies
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
Sleep gallant
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.

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

28. Joshua Hawkins Monument -
Northwest Corner

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

29. Joshua Hawkins Monument

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

30. John Chapman Tombstone
Virginia
Captain VA State Regt
Revolutionary War
1758 - 1853

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

31. William Foster Tombstone -
Perhaps the Oldest Tombstone
in the Cemetery
1st Lt. 5 VA Regt
Rev War
March 9, 1818

By Stanley and Terrie Howard, February 16, 2009

32. Mount Zion Baptist Church as of Today

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

33. Mount Zion Baptist Church

By Brian Scott, February 17, 2011

34. Mount Zion Baptist Church and Cemetery

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.