Mt. Zion

by Virginia Wright

 In 1862, when the Confederate troops came through Mt. Zion foraging for food, they stopped at the home of Mrs. Belle Smith's father.  The Confederate officer forced Mrs. Smith's father to give each soldier a slice of country ham and two slices of homemade bread.  He placed a table across the door for the soldiers.  The officer ordered his men to come to the door for the food, but he would not allow them to enter the house.  He said they would ruin the rug.  The Mt. Zion Bank was organized and built in 1903 on land donated by Albert Franks.  In 1931, the bank was held up by a gangster called "Pretty Boy" Floyd.  Floyd taped up the teller of the bank and escaped with more than $2,200.

 The first school in Mt. Zion was a one room building on the corner where the graveyard is now.  There were three tollgates in Mt. Zion with a toll of two cents at each gate.  The money was supposed to be used to keep the roads in good condition.  However, the roads were repaired by men from the county jail, who had ball and chain fastened to their legs while they broke up rock on the road.  

From a collection of essays written in American Literature Eleven.  The class was taught by Ms. Hazel Ogden of Grant County High School in the 1963-1964 school year, and was typed by the typing classes of Mrs. Mattie Cox.  It is copyrighted by the Grant County Schools, and is used here with their kind permission. We found a copy in UK's King Library.