Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church

Mount Zion A.M.E. (African Methodist Episcopal) Church was constructed in Jacksonville, Florida between 1901 and 1905, making it home to the oldest Black congregation in Jacksonville. After the Civil War, a “society” of freedmen (previously enslaved) created the religious group, operating as a “hush harbor,” which were typically used by slaves outside plantation quarters for secret religious observances. The society sent a petition by Major Johnson to the Annual Conference of Georgia, which met in Savannah, for a pastor, and on July 28, 1866, the church was officially recognized by the regional diocese in Savannah, Georgia. That year, membership was around 75-100 people. The group acquired the property on the corner of Beaver and Newnan Streets, constructing a small wooden church in 1870. Soon, the congregation was too large for the building, and another brick structure was built in 1890 to house 1,500 members.

The third construction of the Mount Zion A.M.E. Church, however, was short-lived. The Great Fire of 1901 soon destroyed most of the city, crumbling the 11-year-old church building with it. Plans to raise money for another church began immediately; meanwhile, a tent was erected beside the site of the former church, where members worshipped while waiting for the new church to be built. In 1905, architects J.B. Carr & Company completed the present building for $18,000. It was one of seven churches in downtown Jacksonville built between 1901 and 1910, and one of two surviving Romanesque Revival buildings in the city.

The style was created by Boston architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-1886). It is considered the first “truly American architectural design” and encompasses square belfies, arched windows, steeply-pitched roofs, and accentuated turrets. In 1992, the location was placed on the Florida Black Heritage Trail. The same year, it was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As of 2016, the congregation had around 250 members.

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