{"nrhp_refnum":"98000452","name":"Mount Zion Old School Baptist Church-VDHR 53-339","other_names":["Mount Zion Primitive Baptist Church","Mount Zion Old School Pr"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"40309 John Mosby Hwy.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Aldie","county":"Loudoun County","state":"VA","lat":38.96360435100007,"lon":-77.61060435199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-05-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Military","Religion","Historic - Non-Aboriginal"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story rectangular brick Old School Primitive Baptist church built in 1851 on U.S. Route 50 in Aldie, Loudoun County, Virginia, with a walled cemetery, an abandoned road trace and two later privies.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is an excellent, little-altered example of a rural antebellum Baptist church, with features meeting the congregation's beliefs. It is also tied to the Old School Baptist movement and to Civil War events, including use as a barracks, hospital and prison, Mosby's Rangers meeting there, and the 1864 Battle of Mount Zion. The cemetery and grounds may yield further information about burial practices and the local Black community.","narrative":"Mount Zion Old School Baptist Church is a plain two-story brick building erected in 1851 on a hilltop along U.S. Route 50 in Aldie. It was built for a congregation that broke away from other Baptist churches in 1850 over changes in practice and doctrine. Few alterations have been made since construction. Inside are a balcony, boxed corner stairs, and pews arranged to separate men and women, following Primitive Baptist custom. The property also holds a stone-walled cemetery with over 200 marked graves, at least 33 more graves outside the wall reported to be burials of Black people, and a remnant of the Old Carolina Road. During the Civil War, Union troops used the church as barracks, hospital and prison, and John Mosby's Rangers gathered there. The Battle of Mount Zion was fought nearby on July 6, 1864. The church was listed for its religious, architectural, military and archeological importance. Regular services ended in 1980.","period_of_significance":"1851-1947","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"No style (simple vernacular rural church)","criteria":["A","C","D"],"status_note":"Listed function is vacant/not in use; the last regular service was held in 1980, and the building has since been used periodically for gatherings. The west wall bulges from foundation settlement, but the building is described as in good condition.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:59.972469-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/29/6816/41681629/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/98000452.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000452/a4623a4006-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000452/a4623a4006-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Sarah Stierch","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Zion_Old_School_Baptist_Church_in_Aldie,_Virginia_-_Stierch.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Sarah Stierch</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:Mount_Zion_Old_School_Baptist_Church_in_Aldie,_Virginia_-_Stierch.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681629","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Zion_Old_School_Baptist_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712917"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/loudoun-county/mount-zion-old-school-baptist-church-vdhr-53-339-98000452/"}