DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Picture the years just after Emancipation — no building, no pews, no steeple. Just eighteen former slaves, gathering on the banks of the Brazos River beneath an old oak tree.
That is where this story begins. Now, these men and women were not all of one mind when it came to denomination. Some were Baptists, some were Methodists.
But out there under that oak, none of that mattered much. They worshipped together. And when they weren't by the river, records show they were also permitted to worship in the balcony of Waco's First Baptist Church sanctuary.
The balcony — not the floor, mind you. The balcony. That detail deserves a moment of silence all on its own.
Then came May of 1866. These men and women walked up to Dr. Rufus Burleson — then president of Baylor University — and they requested letters of dismissal.
Official letters. The kind that said: we are going to build something of our own. Burleson granted those dismissals, and following them, these men and women went ahead and chartered new churches.
The Baptists and the Methodists — still neighbors, still bound by that shared history under the oak — rented space together at Jefferson and Sixth streets. They shared a building. Then the Freedman's Aid Society came along and selected that very location for Howard Institute, a school for local African Americans.
And here is where it gets almost poetic: the Baptist and Methodist congregations dismantled their own building and split the lumber between them. They took it apart together, board by board, and each carried their share into the future. The Methodist congregation — known as Mount Zion — moved to North Sixth and Marlbrough.
And in April of 1873, they dedicated their first sanctuary. A real sanctuary. Walls, a roof, a door that swung open on their own terms.
Shortly after the church's founding in the 1860s, Mount Zion joined a large group of Black Methodist churches under the Mississippi Mission Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The congregation grew — and out of that growth, three other Methodist Episcopal congregations were organized. One church planting three more.
That old oak tree had cast a long shadow. In 1972, urban renewal pushed the congregation out once more. They worshipped in the Friendship Center while plans took shape, and then in October of 1973, they relocated to this very site.
The site where that marker now stands. Over the years, Mount Zion's members have kept a strong link to Texas' Methodist educational institutions. They are active today in local educational training and a long list of other programs and services.
The church remains a spiritual home for many in the Waco area. Eighteen people under an oak tree by the Brazos River. That is the seed of it.
Everything else — the letters of dismissal, the shared lumber, the first sanctuary, the three daughter congregations, the moves, the endurance — all of it grew from that. Some roots, once they take hold, just do not let go.
What the marker says
In the years following Emancipation, eighteen former slaves worshipped together on the banks of the Brazos River under an old oak tree. Records show that these men and women, both Baptists and Methodists, were also allowed to worship in the balcony of Waco's First Baptist Church sanctuary. In May 1866, they requested letters of dismissal from Dr. Rufus Burleson, then president of Baylor University. Following their dismissals, these men and women chartered new churches. The Baptists and Methodists shared rented space at Jefferson and Sixth streets until the Freedman's Aid Society selected the location for Howard Institute, a school for local African Americans. The Baptist and Methodist congregations dismantled their building and shared the lumber. The Methodist church, known as Mount Zion, moved to North Sixth and Marlbrough, where it dedicated the first sanctuary in April 1873. Shortly after the church's founding in the 1860s, Mount Zion became part of a large group of Black Methodist churches under the Mississippi Mission Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The congregation grew, and out of the growth three other Methodist Episcopal congregations were organized. In 1972, due to urban renewal, members worshipped in the Friendship Center until relocating the church to this site in October 1973. Over the years, Mount Zion's members have maintained a strong link to Texas' Methodist educational institutions. Today, Mount Zion's members are active in local educational training, as well as many other programs and services. The church continues to be a spiritual home for many in the Waco area. (2006)