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History of
Zion Hill
Baptist Church
1872 - Present
Zion Hill Baptist Church is one of nine churches that grew out of Friendship Baptist Church. Friendship Baptist Church was established in 1862 and independently organized in 1866, after the Civil War, becoming Atlanta's first black Baptist autonomous congregation. The founding pastor was the Reverend Frank Quarles, who served from 1862-1881. Because the congregation could not buy property, they worshipped in a boxcar sent to Atlanta from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to house the first classroom of what became known as Atlanta University.
Friendship is known as the "Mother Church" among Baptists in Atlanta because of its role in harmoniously forming nine other congregations throughout the city. Reverend Frank Quarles, Pastor of Friendship Baptist Church and organizer and first president of the Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia, provided the guidance for the establishment of Zion Hill and eight other black Baptist churches throughout Atlanta, as follows:
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1868 Mount Zion Second Baptist Church
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1870 Providence Missionary Baptist Church
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1871 Wheat Street Baptist Church
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1871 Paradise Baptist Church
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1872 Zion Hill Baptist Church
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1877 Antioch Baptist Church
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1883 Providence Baptist Church
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1909 Little Friendship Baptist Church
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1917 Union Baptist Church
Nine years after the Proclamation of Emancipation, in 1872, former slaves, who were members of Friendship Baptist Church on Mitchell Street, decided that they needed a church closer to where they lived.
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Click the links below to follow us on a journey to learn more about the growth and expansion of
Zion Hill during the tenure of its pastoral lineage.
Zion Hill Baptist Church Pastors
Church Location 1
Brush Harbor at Glenn & Humphries Streets
History Exhibit
Have you visited the ZHBC History Exhibit and Poster displays? They are located in the Love Center leading toward the Fellowship Hall.