Whereas before the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, the citizens of Gordon District in Orange County, Virginia, gathered to praise God through prayer, song, and testimony; Whereas initially the residents formed a Prayer Band in the home of Maria and Peter Armstead, the first known spiritual leader, in an area referred to as Peter Bottom, off Indiantown Road, in Locust Grove, Virginia; Whereas the Mt. Zion Baptist Church’s early ancestors were many, and consisted of the Armstead, Broadus, Brooks, Carter, Cottoms, Henderson, Johnson, Lewis, Minor, and Vass families, with birth dates as early as 1810 (Census 1880); Whereas today the Prayer Band descendants are members and loyal supporters of the Church; Whereas the Prayer Band’s next place of worship was a brush arbor built on a corner lot subsequently purchased by Nathan Henderson and wife, Betsy; Whereas Reverend John C. Willis, Jr. (b.1824), a White minister, was the principal speaker; Whereas in those days, many members walked to worship services, and others traveled by horseback and carriages, from neighboring communities referred to as Lewistown, Peter Bottom, Fox Neck, and Flat Run; Whereas as the congregation grew in numbers and spirituality, Prayer Band members decided to divide the travel distance and move from Indiantown Road, Lewistown, to property owned by Abe Roach on Governor Almond Road, where the congregation erected a log cabin; Whereas Reverend Peter Armstead continued as the Prayer Band’s leader until his death, prior to the 1860’s; Whereas, in 1858, needing a larger sanctuary, and unable to add to the log cabin, the Prayer Band moved to property on land owned by Henry Willis (a few miles from Mt. Zion’s present location); Whereas during this period, Reverend Robert Woodson (b. 1815), a traveling minister, served the congregation; Whereas Reverend Wanzer Tibbs (b.1842), a traveling minister, was the Prayer Band’s next spiritual leader