East Mount Zion Baptist Church

• Favorite
• 
• 
• 

• Address 9990 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44106
• Phone 216-231-0408
• Website http://eastmtzionbaptistchurch.org/

For generations, East Mount Zion has served as an African American community anchor and source of spiritual enrichment. It was the first African American Congregation to hold religious services on Euclid Avenue, representing a foothold for African Americans from the segregated central neighborhood to a predominantly white neighborhood. East Mount Zion Church was designated a local landmark by the City of Cleveland Landmarks Commission in 1980.

The history of East Mount Zion Baptist Church exemplifies the possibility of place, community impact, partnership, and purpose. A product of the Great Migration, East Mount Zion Baptist Church was established in 1908 by Alexander Roberson. He moved to Cleveland from South Carolina in 1890, following years of service to Patrick Calhoun, the grandson of former Vice President John C. Calhoun, a stalwart pro-slavery leader and owner of the Fort Hill Plantation. East Mount Zion Baptist Church became the first Baptist church at the city’s east end. The church grew from gatherings in private homes to services at the Wigwam, also known as the East End Republican Club, located at the corner of Cedar Avenue and E. 100th Street. The church secured the property of Rev. H. D. Wiggins on Frank Avenue and Colonial Court for the erection of a church edifice, worshipping under a large tent on the grounds until the church building was completed in 1910.