Mt. Zion Congregational Church was founded on September 11, 1864, when nineteen men and women formally gathered in Plymouth Church on Prospect Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. The predominantly African American congregation has moved many times throughout its history, including locations downtown, in the Central and Fairfax neighborhoods, and its current location (2014) in University Circle. Mt. Zion's congregation played a significant role in the settlement of freed slaves in Cleveland after the Civil War, the founding of the Cleveland Chapter of the National Association of Colored People (NAACP), and the founding of Eliza Bryant Village. The collection consists of approximately 300 black and white and color photographs depicting church activities.
