After standing vacant for nearly a decade, the historic Mount Zion Primitive Baptist Church is undergoing a major renovation by an Altamonte Springs-based congregation.

The small wooden church, built in 1926 and recognized on the Register of Historic Places since 2010, had fallen into disrepair due to weather damage, termites, and lack of maintenance. No services have been held there since at least 2015.

(Mount Zion Baptist before it’s renovation. The church had sat for nearly a decade with the elements taking their tole on the structure. Photo Credit – David Bulit.)

Horeb Monte de Dios, a non-denominational Hispanic church founded in 2011, has entered into an agreement with the building’s owner to restore the site. The congregation has begun clearing brush, reinforcing beams, and removing termite-damaged materials.

(Prior to the renovation the interior of the church sat abandoned. Note the nearly 100 year old wooden heat system to the left. Photo Credit – David Bulit.)

Crafted by the hands of pioneers in the late 1800s, Mount Zion Primitive Baptist was more than a church, it was a sanctuary sculpted with the integrity of hard work, and faith. Built by African American families from Georgia and North Florida, this modest yet dignified building emerged from the orange-laden hills of Tangerine like a beacon. Families like the Woodburys, the Stalings, the Jacksons, and Prince Williams brought not just their dreams, but hammers, wagons, and sweat to shape this house of worship from Sanford-sourced timber.

The original structure burned down, but the people, never deterred, rebuilt it in 1926. Since then, it’s been moved not once but twice, avoiding the path of modern highways and shifting landscapes. It remains today not far from its original hilltop, now perched quietly on Old Highway 441 waiting, weathered, and watched over.

(A Holy Bible sits abandoned at the church prior to renovation work. Photo Credit – David Bulit.)

While not everything could sadly be preserved, what it represents will be. At its peak, the church’s membership was comprised of 23 families, but as years went by, members either died or moved away. By 2015, only four members remained.

One of those very members is 80-year-old Beaulah Babbs who calls herself “the last parishioner.” She has worshiped here. She has wept here. And now, with help from fellow locals and encouragement from a new generation, the church is now going to get a new life.

“It was always full of joy, and the spirit was in here,” Babbs told the Orlando Sentinel. “It was a great experience.” You can read that full story here.

(Restoration efforts are under way. Much of the structure had termite damage and needed new woodwork and bracing resulting in most of the church having to be gutted. Photo Credit – David Bulit.)

This is more than a renovation, it’s a resurrection. Mount Zion is being returned to its architectural roots. While much of the structure could not be saved, the hispanic church is taking every effort to preserve as much of the original church as possible. The new church will also have a museum of the original Mount Zion Primitive Baptist Church.

In the 1960s, volunteers painted its facade, built dressing rooms, and added restrooms thanks to local donations, it has always been a project of the people. A photo from that era shows civil rights leader Norma Williams (daughter-in-law of pioneer Prince Williams) painting the exterior by hand.

(Civil Rights leader Norma Williams actually painted this very same church in the 1960s.)

Photos by David Bulit – Abandoned Florida – Check it out here: 

Main Photo Credit – James McPherson