African Zion Baptist Church
Encyclopedia
African Zion Baptist Church is a historic Baptist
church at 4104 Malden Drive in Malden
, Kanawha County, West Virginia
.
It is a one-story frame structure built atop a stone foundation. It has a gable roof topped by a wooden bell tower
. This is considered the mother church of African-American Baptists in West Virginia, many of whom migrated there after the American Civil War
and Reconstruction
. Among its noted members were "Father" Lewis Rice, founder of the church and a leader of the early African-American community in the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia, and Booker T. Washington
.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1974.
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
church at 4104 Malden Drive in Malden
Malden, West Virginia
Malden is an unincorporated community in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States, within the Charleston metro area. The ZIP code for Malden is 25306 and the area code is 304. Malden is set in the Eastern Standard Time Zone.-History:...
, Kanawha County, West Virginia
Kanawha County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 200,073 people, 86,226 households, and 55,960 families residing in the county. The population density was 222 people per square mile . There were 93,788 housing units at an average density of 104 per square mile...
.
It is a one-story frame structure built atop a stone foundation. It has a gable roof topped by a wooden bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
. This is considered the mother church of African-American Baptists in West Virginia, many of whom migrated there after the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and Reconstruction
Reconstruction
In the history of the United States, the term "Reconstruction Era" has two senses: the first covers the entire nation in the period 1865–1877 following the Civil War; the second one, used in this article, covers the transformation of the Southern United States from 1863 to 1877, with the...
. Among its noted members were "Father" Lewis Rice, founder of the church and a leader of the early African-American community in the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia, and Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1974.
External links
- Malden Historic District, African Zion Baptist Church, 4104 Malden Drive, Malden, Kanawha, WV: 2 drawings, 3 photo, and 1 color transparency at Historic American Building Survey
- e-WV, The West Virginia Encyclopedia: African Zion Baptist Church article