Alto, Cherokee County
Although few written records of this church exist before 1871, it is thought that the congregation was organized just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. In 1871 the fellowship built a sanctuary at this site during the pastorate of the Rev. Jehu John Allen. The Mount Zion Church has produced several Methodist ministers from its membership. Part of the land deeded to the church by William Collier in 1871, by Wiley P. Cole in 1872, and by H. N. Lusk in 1882 has served the area as a public cemetery. The earliest marked grave, that of Hester Cole, is dated 1874.