Mount Zion Cemetery - Dade City, FL
N 28° 22.321 W 082° 13.779
17R E 379510 N 3139028
The historic Mount Zion Cemetery is located in Dade City, Florida, USA. It was originally a churchyard cemetery adjacent to the Mount Zion Methodist Church, which was destroyed by a hurricane.
Waymark Code: WMB2K9
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 03/27/2011
Views: 3
An historical marker in the cemetery provides the following information:
"Mt. Zion Methodist Church was organized in 1871. A two-story structure, built of hand hewn timbers and sawed rough boards on land donated by Nathan A. Carter -- with the second floor reserved for the Masonic Lodge -- was completed in 1872 when the first burial was made. The building was destroyed by a hurricane October 25, 1921. In 1977 the Mt. Zion Cemetery Association was formed to encourage perpetual care and maintenance of the cemetery."
The following information is from the History of the Mount Zion Cemetery and the Fort Dade Methodist Church website:
"Among the numerous Masonic Lodge members buried in the Mt. Zion Cemetery, there are also several of those who served during the Civil War. There are at least 28 marked graves of known Confederate soldiers. There is also another organization represented through the grave markers in the Mt. Zion Cemetery and that is the Woodsman of the World Organization. Since Florida was deeply involved in the timber industry, there were several local chapters of the Woodsman of the World Organization in Pasco County, none of which, from our area, survived. The Woodsman of the World markers are very distinct. They stand about 5 feet tall and are made to look like the trunk of a tree. The Mt. Zion Cemetery became the final resting place for numerous Pasco County Pioneers.
Throughout the years the Mt. Zion Cemetery has grown in size and in 1977 the Mt. Zion Cemetery Association was formed for the purpose of perpetual care and maintenance of the cemetery. This association has been meeting on the third Saturday of March and September, for a planned workday, ever since the association was formed in 1977. The cemetery is approximately 6 acres in size with a newly added section. The Mt. Zion Cemetery has grown to accommodate close to 1000 burials many of which are pioneer families of Pasco County; the cemetery still remains active today. As the numbers of those interred here continues to grow so will the history of this one time small country cemetery."
According to the Find A Grave website, there are 975 interments in this cemetery.