Mt. Zion Methodist Church - Grant and Winn Parishes, Louisiana 100 Year Old Church Lays Cornerstone In New Building - ca. 1956 Contributed by Greggory E. Davies 120 Ted Price Lane Winnfield, LA 71483 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** TIPS FOR SEARCHING RECORDS ON THE INTERNET Netscape & Ms Explorer users: If searching for a particular surname, locality or date while going through the records in the archives or anywhere....try these few steps: 1. Go to the top of the report you are searching. 2. Click on EDIT at the top of your screen. 3. Next click on FIND in the edit menu. 4. When the square pops up, enter what you are looking for in the FIND WHAT ___________blank. 5. Click on DIRECTION __DOWN. 6. And last click on FIND NEXT and continue to click on FIND NEXT until you reach the end of the report. This should highlight the item that you indicated in "find what" every place it appears in the report. You must continue to click on FIND NEXT till you reach the end of the report to see all of the locations of the item indicated. A beautiful spring day, Sunday, March 4, marked the laying of the cornerstone in the new brick veneer building of the Mt. Zion Methodist Church, located between Atlanta and Montgomery (in Winn Parish). Members and friends of the church attended the services which were led by the Reverend A. W. Townsend, Jr., District Superintendent of Methodist Churches. Others participating in the services were Rev. W. R. Akin, pastor, Mr. Shaw, song director, Howard Gorham, builder, and Mrs. Lula Wardlow, a former pastor. Contents of the box that was placed in the cornerstone were: a picture of four of the former pastors and two of the old pioneer laymen, namely, Rev. Mrs. Lula Wardlow, Rev. J. W. Lee, Rev. W. W. Lantripp, Rev. J. W. Gaar; a picture of the church that was torn down and replaced by the brick structure; a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Quinalty, who gave the land for the church site. Other contents were: the minutes of the last annual Methodist Conference before the Northern and Southern churches were united as one body. This Conference was held at Ansley, La; a copy of the program of the cornerstone laying services; a copy of The Enterprise-News-American; the official roll of the church; a list of all who donated money to the building fund. Also included were the names of the officers of the WSCS and members; the Sunday School officers; the building committee; finance committee; the names of the carpenters, the brick masons, all who gave their time and labor free, and the ones who wired the church. A history of the Church, written by Mrs. J. W. Teddlie of Winnfield, is printed elsewhere in the issue. History of Mount Zion Methodist Church by Mrs. J. W. Teddlie I am writing this history to be placed in the corner stone of the new Mount Zion Methodist Church which is being completed in 1956. I was asked to write this history as I am the oldest living person that grew up in this community. Mount Zion is located about five and one half miles from the little town of Montgomery, La. The first church was constructed of pine logs and was built in 1856. My grandfather, James Hicks, was the first preacher. He plowed all week and preached on Sundays. Some of the early preachers who followed were Rev. Strickland, Rev. Patton, and Rev. Brown. They, too, worked their farms during the week and preached on Sunday. These men of God received very little money for their work in the kingdom. After the Civil War the people around Mount Zion had a hard time. Money was scarce and things were hard to get as there were no means of transportation except by steamboats and horses and wagons. All had to wear their shoes until they were full of holes. No One had fine clothes and the old ladies wore sun bonnets to church. If you had a Sunday hat it was forced to last three or four years. Families went to church in wagons and on horse back as buggies were very scarce and few had them. The husband would help his wife on a horse, put the baby in her lap and one child behind her. He would then get on his horse, put one child in front of him and one behind him, and all would go to church. Every family didn't have a cook stove. Many women cook-......(part of article missing)....munity and it was kept busy as the owner allowed the neighbors to use it. People of the Mount Zion community had high standards of conduct. you seldom heard of a man being imprisoned for stealing. Divorces were spoken of in whispered tones. If my father let a man have money he seldom took a note. He said that his word was his bond. Not so today. While one man is thinking how hard he can make a dollar, two are thinking how they can get it away from him. In 1871 the people of the Mt. Zion community had outgrown the log church, so (they) built a new building. This church was made of rough lumber and was used both as a church and school house. There is where I went to school as a child, played tag, and learned to spell "baker" from the old blue backed speller. Public schools were very inadequate. The only free schooling that children got was two or three months during the summer. Many families were anxious to have their children get more education so (they) provided private schools to make up for the lack of public schools. This community was made up of hardworking families, namely: the Stricklands, Babers, Pattons, Shaws, Davisons, Currys, Quinalty, Plunketts, Hicks, McCains, Shumates, and many others. The next church was built in 1898. The lumber used in the building was rough and had to be planed by hand. My father, Samuel Curry, had a saw mill so gave most of the lumber for the church. He also gave liberal donations of money. Mr. LaFleur, uncle of Mr. Tom Quinalty, donated the lot for this church. The only living man that worked on this church is Watson Rogers of Montgomery, La. Just about the time that the church of 1898 was finished a drought caused the crops to be ruined and the people were unable to pay the balance due which was seventy-five dollars. Mr. Tom Quinalty, who was not a rich man but a true Christian, paid the seventy-five dollars. Surrounding the Mt. Zion Church is the Mount Zion Cemetery. Here are the burial plots of the old families of Mount Zion. Mr. Tom Quinalty helped dig all the graves for the people of the community and never received a penny for his work. My father made all the coffins as there were none for sale in the country stores. He trimmed the outside with a black material and the inside with white cambric. He never charged anything for his lumber or labor. When I look back on my eighty-five years, I marvel at the many changes that have taken place. We now have in the church electric lights, gas, and musical instruments. The people and the church at Mount Zion are very dear to me. I hope this new church will be a spiritual church, a prosperous church, and a glorious church without spot or wrinkle. (Submitted by Greggory Ellis Davies, Winnfield, Winn Parish, La. Apparently the article was written c. 1956.)