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Summer Interns
Serving Mt. Zion The Currituck United Methodist Charge History of the United Methodist Church The General Commission on Archives and History for The United Methodist Church Everyone is invited to contribute to the history of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church. Please contact the church or webmaster.
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Rev. Wise's booklet provides a fascinating look back at the traveling conditions (usually by boat or through the swamps by horseback); the building specifications (hand-hewn heart of pine beams put together with wooden pegs and hand-forged nails); and the membership spanning many generations. There are members of some historical significance. Nathan Poyner had a distinguished career as Justice of the Peace, member of the House of Commons, a delegate to the first and second Provincial Congress at Newbern, and in 1775, Captain of the Revolutionary Militia of Currituck County. Captain Poyner was married to Ann Sanderson, whose father, Thomas Sanderson, Sr., probably owned the land where the original church stood. Later, Mrs. Thomas (Mary) Poyner, would give the church its first clear title. On the easterly side of Mt. Zion was a port for sailing ships which sometimes brought visiting preachers. However, with the outbreak of the war, Francis Asbury, considered a Tory in 1775, never made a scheduled trip. He did complete the trip in 1784. In 1795, the Reverend Edward Hardy of the Camden Circuit would court Colonel Thomas Jarvis' daughter, Lydia. After their wedding she later bore him seven sons. The minister and his wife would become the great grandparents of the famed General Douglas MacArthur. Incidentally, after Lydia died, Reverend Hardy would eventually marry three other ladies of Mt. Zion Church. In 1889, one of Colonel Jarvis' grandsons, Thomas J. Jarvis,
who described the church as "very dear", became governor of the state of
North Carolina.
Some other names for the church included the Poplar Branch Methodist Church (due to it's location) and the Methodist Episcopal Church in Society at Mt. Zion Meeting House. Today, Mt. Zion UMC remains part of the Currituck United Methodist Charge with her sister church, Hebron United Methodist Church. In The Church Book of Mt. Zion Meeting House, minister records indicate church members (sometime wealthy, prominent citizens) being expelled for misconduct such as "dancing, drinking, gambling, cursing, brawling, and other 'sins'." For this reason, those who wanted to join the church had to go through a six month probation period before being added to the church rolls. In 1842, the "Zion Tetotal Abstanance Society" joined the "Currituck County Tetotal Abstanance Society" with many citizens pledging not to drink or traffic in liquors. However, they were acceptable for medicinal or sacramental purposes. In the 1800s, an old style pump organ provided music in the church. Since the organist, Florence Jarvis, was quite short, a hired man had to come to church to pump the pedals while she played. In 1908, a contractor was hired to build the pulpit and altar railing. Unfortunately he used a local man, seven feet tall, for measurements on the altar rail. It later had to be torn down and rebuilt. In 1920, the Ladies Aid Society purchased a piano for Mt. Zion. There were mixed emotions about this "new fangled instrument" since some members believed it was not appropriate for a church. In 1937 electricity arrived to replace kerosene lanterns. In 1945, white shingles and a steeple were added plus a vestibule and brick steps. The steeple housed a large bell originally from the old Mager Woodhouse plantation. The inside of the building was changed from two aisles to a center aisle arrangement. In 1963, classrooms were added for the amount of $5,000. The structures pictured below show the Sunday School rooms in the wings. Later an addition was built on the west side of the church which included kitchen and restroom facilities. In 1968, red carpeting was installed with red velvet kneeling pads. In addition, a Wurlitzer organ was purchased. In the fall of 1975, Mt. Zion UMC deemed a lot to the Currituck Charge for a parsonage, erecting a dwelling by the end of the year. Tragically, on Ash Wednesday, March 3, 1976, the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church structure burned to the ground. The cause of the fire remains unknown. The only items salvageable were hand forged nails, some red bricks, and the old church bell. Thankfully, Miss Margaret Dowdy, church historian, had in her home a treasured communion set and the original church record book from 1829. The book and other memorabilia are now archived at Duke University. You can view pages of the state's oldest church record book by clicking on: Mt. Zion Methodist - Episcopal Church record book link to a Currituck County history site. |
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