Abandoned Church – Endangered Mt. Zion/Rodney Baptist Church in MS

Built in 1850, Mt. Zion Church was the second church to be constructed in Rodney, Mississippi, the town now a virtual ghost town.  Back in 1850, however, when Rodney was thriving, the Greek Revival-Gothic Revival church had a significant number of congregants. The gable-front building was beautiful with its heavy denticulated boxed cornice, lancet-shaped arch entrance door with archivolt trim, and impressive polygonal belfry with domed cap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Initially formed as Rodney Baptist with an integrated membership, it later would become Mt. Zion Church.  In the early 1900s, Sunday Services were held all day long from 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., with a dinner intermission midday. Sermons such as, Is Temptation a Necessity to Development of Christian Character and Is the Work of the Holy Spirit Sovereign or Subordinate were shouted from the pulpit with enthusiast amens from the membership.

 

Per newspaper articles, funerals were held at the church as late as 1991, but located close to the Mississippi River, the area is prone to flooding. Sadly, repeated floods have caused the structure to be significantly weakened.

Now rotting and water-logged, the abandoned church is in danger of complete ruin.