Mount Zion AME Church
449 South Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard
One of the area’s oldest Black churches, Mount Zion AME (African Methodist Episcopal), was founded in 1888 and initially served the spiritual needs of the Black settlement of Freemanville, in northeast Port Orange. After the citrus grove freezes of 1894-95, many Blacks from the Port Orange Mount Zion Church moved to Newtown looking for work, and the church followed, moving to South Street in Daytona Beach around 1900, and to its present site in 1924. The 1924 construction occurred under the leadership of the Late Rev. C.J. Oates.
As the congregation grew, several additions and improvements to the church have been made. In 2021, the Reverend Sandara Williams became the first female pastor at Mount Zion.
The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, the first independent Black denomination in the U.S., played a crucial role in American history by providing a space for Black worship and community, advocating for social justice, and fostering education and leadership within the Black community.
Timeline
1787 - AME forms as first Black Denomination
1888 - Begins in Freemanville
1894 - Orange Grove Freeze
1900 - Church relocates to South Street
1924 - Church relocates to present location
2021 - First Female Pastor