Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church & Cemetery
Henderson, Rusk County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1867 Augustus Ferguson deeded 8.5 acres of land for a church and school. This congregation was formed in 1868, with the Rev. John Sparkman (1821-82) as the first Pastor. According to tradition, there were 15 charter members. Services were originally held in a log cabin. A frame church, built in 1880-81, was destroyed by fire in 1943 and replaced by the present structure. Unmarked graves in the nearby cemetery predate the church's founding. Burials there include church members, war veterans, and former slaves.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Founded in 1868 on land deeded the year before by Augustus Ferguson, Zion Hill grew from a congregation worshipping in a log cabin into a lasting community institution in Rusk County. Its first frame church stood from the early 1880s until fire took it in 1943, and the present building rose in its place. The adjoining cemetery holds graves older than the church itself, including church members, war veterans, and formerly enslaved people.
Why it matters
Black churches like Zion Hill were the bedrock of freedpeople's communities after emancipation, serving as houses of worship, schools, and centers of self-governance in the Reconstruction South.
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Related people
- · Augustus Ferguson
- · Rev. John Sparkman
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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