The Bell Tower @ Mt Zion United Methodist Church - Lawnside, NJ
N 39° 51.880 W 075° 02.243
18S E 496802 N 4412737
Yet another beautiful bell tower @ Lawnside Church. This one, however, is low, small and modest, but still beautiful. It is open at the top with bannisters and a small, white spire to top it off. it is located on top of the entrance vestibule.
Waymark Code: WM726F
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 08/22/2009
Views: 2
This church 104 year old church is located on a very busy highway (White Horse Pike) in an old section of town. Built in 1905, this is the fourth church on this parcel of land since 1828. The first church was log cabin destroyed by fire in 1835.
African Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal Church (Mt. Zion) was organized in 1828. On March 2, 1828 the first Trustees purchased from Mr. Joseph Jenings of the Township of Waterford, more than two acres of land (the current site occupied by the existing church and cemetery) for $40.00. The first church was a quickly built log cabin destroyed by fire in 1835. Four churches have been built on this parcel of land since 1828. The current building, completed in 1905, is the fourth church structure on the site. There is a cemetery to the left of the church. There are a number of interments from the turn of the 20t century with a fair amount of the deceased being born in the early to mid 1800s.
As a member church of the Untied Methodist Church, Mt. Zion United Methodist Church is currently a member of the Greater NJ Annual Conference. The current church building is listed as Historic Site #174 within the United Methodist Church Worldwide Archival Directory. Records show Mt. Zion was incorporated in the State of New Jersey as Mt. Zion Methodist Episcopal Church on January 19, 1982, based on a congregational meeting held on December 14, 1891, "with a plurality of voices" voting in favor. The members continued to meet from house to house, with a financial plan focusing on starting a sinking fund of two cents a week to purchase land and build.
From the original name African Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal Church, of the church that appears on the deed (issued in 1828 to members or persons of color of the Methodist Society of Gloucester County), Mt. Zion has undergone name changes consistent with those of the Methodist church worldwide, shown as follows; Mt. Zion Methodist Church to 1939, Mt. Zion Methodist church 1939 to 1968 and Mt. Zion United Methodist Church from 1968 to present.
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