Zion Hill: an endangered
species
Chairman, Nacogdoches Historical Commission
A public plea
The English poet Thomas Gray could have written his "Elegy in a Country Churchyard" in Oak Grove Cemetery looking at Zion Hill Church. Unfortunately, Zion Hill's present condition, to quote Gray, "Implores the passing tribute of a sigh."
Zion Hill is falling down, and we must consider the consequences. To the tourist who asks, 'what is there to see in Nacogdoches,' we will have new answers after the collapse of Zion Hill:
• 'next to our historic cemetery, we used to have one of the finest church structures in the state;
• 'until recently, we had one of the most important African American heritage sites in the state;
• 'the last surviving church structure on its original site designed by our famous turn-of-the- century architect D. Rulfs fell down last week from neglect;
• 'that nice historical marker on this lot marks the site where a historic building once stood.'
Of course, none of us really want to voice such answers to tourist questions.
This article is not trying to point any finger of blame for the condition of Zion Hill. It is, however, making a plea that we consider reordering our priories to move this problem to the top of our lists when trying to promote things "historic" in our town. While some projects can be done any time, others like Zion Hill have a finite time frame. When lost, Zion Hill will leave an empty space in our visual landscape which nothing will ever replicate. While Nacogdoches does not have to fabricate history like some towns&endash;we just have to do good research and creatively use it, yet even we do have pitifully few original structures with which to link our history. A history of Zion Hill as a non-visual exercise can always be told, but how much richer the heritage becomes if the structure is there for all to see. Unless historical awareness leads to historical preservation, it will come too late for an endangered structure like Zion Hill. We must refocus our priorities quickly. As the pictures accompanying this article will show, we are losing something totally unique and original: an invaluable, infinitely reusable asset which can be appreciated from a variety of perspectives.
Location, Location, Location
If location is so important in business that we repeat it three times, then every time we think of Oak Grove Cemetery, we need say Zion Hill three times. The church is an integral and essential part of the cemetery's landscape along Lanana Street. Aesthetically, the Zion Hill and the big oak trees belong there and give Oak Grove its tone; they turn an ordinary cemetery into one of the prettiest tourist sights in this state. The historic people buried in Oak Grove can receive attention in a brochure or colorful lecture; a description of the original land grant from the Government of Spain to Antonio Arriola can be described. Visually, however, with the exception of a few interesting examples of funerary art, the attraction of this location would decrease by one half if Zion Hill falls. With Zion Hill, Oak Grove becomes one of the city and state's premiere tourist sites; the once isolated church, separated by a large field before World War II, now forms one integral unit with Oak Grove Cemetery.
A plea for priorities
In one of my last long phone conversations with Lucille Fain before she died, she called to ask me to please do something for Zion Hill as we had done in the 1970s; she was concern over the plight of the building and the town's list of priorities which did not put Zion Hill at the top. When the Texas Historical Commission offered Nacogdoches a challenge grant of $55,000.00 to put a roof on Zion Hill, I thought the issue was on the way to a solution. The THC offer has now expired without being accepted. While we possibly can get this offer renewed, we must get busy. We must not let our paralysis or our other efforts to promote historic tourism in town contribute to further neglect of Zion Hill condition. The pictures accompanying this article should provide graphic illustration of the dangers. We will be sorry if we fail.
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