Zion Poplars Baptist Church

Zion Poplars Baptist Church. . The magnificent edifice known as Zion Poplars Baptist Church developed out of a West African-influenced religious practice known as a “brush arbor,” a clandestine religious meeting held in wooded areas or in remote cabins in wooded areas. Before 1865, and for some time afterwards, Blacks were prohibited, by law, from gathering in large numbers in order to give, or receive, educational or religious instruction. The brush arbor provided them with a safe haven for worshiping God. Zion Poplars developed out of this tradition when, in 1866, its founding mothers and fathers chose seven poplar trees as their sanctuary. Four of these trees are still extant on church grounds., Built in 1894, the church stands as an excellent example of the mid-19th-century Gothic revival style, with vernacular detailing. The spectacular interior of the church exhibits the creative craftsmanship of Mr. Frank Braxton, a former slave. Braxton, early congregants, their descendants, and war veterans are interred in the old and new cemeteries., Like most independent Black churches, Zion Poplars was a multifunctional institution, serving the spiritual, educational, and economic needs of its congregants and of members of the larger community. Zion Poplars, therefore, provided Blacks with many resources that the larger society refused to grant. That tradition of mutual-aid, that communal and indomitable spirit, survives to this day. For its service to its congregants and to members of the greater community, its architectural style, and its West African influences, Zion Poplars Baptist Church is a historic and cultural treasure., Natalie S, Robertson, Ph.D. , Hampton University