{"nrhp_refnum":"90001872","name":"Mount Zion United Methodist Church","other_names":["#5"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"218 Alexander St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Belton","county":"Bell County","state":"TX","lat":31.059834287000058,"lon":-97.46633864599994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-12-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1-story, T-plan vernacular church with Gothic Revival influences at 218 Alexander Street in West Belton, Bell County, Texas, built in 1893 by an African-American congregation.","why_significant":"The church is argued to be significant under Criterion A for its long association with Belton's black community, as a focal point of West Belton, in the area of Ethnic Heritage. It is also significant under Criterion C as an intact vernacular interpretation of the Gothic Revival style. It is described as one of the few surviving early black churches in the Bell County area.","narrative":"Mount Zion United Methodist Church is a modest 1-story, T-plan building at 218 Alexander Street in West Belton, Texas, just above Nolan Creek. Built in 1893 by a large African-American congregation, it has a limestone rubble foundation, stuccoed walls, shingled gable ends and a 2-story bell tower in the elbow of its two wings. Simple pointed-arch windows with stone lintels give the vernacular design its Gothic Revival character. The church was built during Belton's cotton boom, when the black population grew but was confined to segregated neighborhoods; West Belton, across the creek from downtown, became the largest of these. The congregation has remained a focal point of that community. The building was listed for its Ethnic Heritage significance and as a good example of the modest churches raised by African-American congregations, few of which survive intact from the 19th century. A modern brick addition and poor physical condition detract somewhat from its integrity.","period_of_significance":"1893 - 1940","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Other: vernacular; Late Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Described as in poor condition, with foundation problems, some windows replaced by aluminum-frame units, cracked stucco and a modern brick addition; still used as a religious facility.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:20.968435-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/97/9682/40968297/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/90001872.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001872/01146ca95d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001872/01146ca95d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mt_zion_umc_belton_tx_south_elev_2014.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Larry D. Moore</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mt_zion_umc_belton_tx_south_elev_2014.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40968297","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Zion_United_Methodist_Church_(Belton,_Texas)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6924803"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/bell-county/mount-zion-united-methodist-church-90001872/"}