This church’s African American Baptist congregation was organized in 1879, a coalition formed by church member Charlie Clay, who operated the wholesale grocery warehouse (see LC28) owned by John Schmidt, Rulfs’s long-time client. Schmidt financed the land and building costs and the services of Rulfs. This is one of only two Rulfs church designs to survive. The Baptist church has an Akron plan under a pyramidal roof, cross gables on the north and west sides, a short entrance tower on the northeast, and a dominating tower with a tall steeple. The picturesque massing obscures the plan’s relative simplicity. The congregation moved from the church in 1987, and the building has since been undergoing phased rehabilitation. The City of Nacogdoches Historic Sites Department has plans for an African American museum.
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Zion Hill Baptist Church
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