“I remember this white wooden church on this very corner,” Brown said of the former Mt. Zion AME Church while speaking on Thursday at the current church.
She also recalled how the church’s pastors, who were not married, would dine on Sundays at church members’ homes.
“The church is the members, and I recall a lot of these soldiers,” Brown said. “We have a rich history here at Mt. Zion, a history that we are indeed proud of. We are standing on the shoulders of some outstanding Christians who were a part of this church. In closing, I’ll say, ‘We’ve come a long way, baby.’”
Brown was one of the featured speakers at a ceremony to unveil a historical marker for the church, which stands at 502 McDonald St., several blocks west of downtown Crestview. The marker was presented by members of the nonprofit Crestview Historic Preservation Board.
Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1905, Board Chairwoman Ann Spann said at the ceremony.
“I cannot find another church that predates Mt. Zion in the city of Crestview,” Spann said.
The 119-year-old church is older than the Hub City. Crestview was incorporated in 1916 and became the seat of Okaloosa County the following year.
Spann said her board holds fundraisers that provide money to pay for historical markers that are placed at historically significant sites.
Mt. Zion Steward Pro-Tem Sherry Flavors, who joined the church in 1963, said the original Mt. Zion church stood nearby at the intersection of School Avenue and Bay Street.
After that church burned down in 1938, a new one was built on McDonald Street, which at the time was called James Street. The latter church was torn down and replaced with the existing one in 1964, under then-pastor G.E. Dixon, Flavors said. The church, which underwent a major renovation in 1998, currently has 36 members.
“We thank and praise God that we have come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord,” Flavors said at the ceremony.
