Mount Olive Church

Mount Olive Church

circa 1885 - present

The Mount Olive Church was organized as the Montezuma Baptist Church around 1885 in Centreville, Virginia, in what was known as "Uniontown" and later recognized as "Bush Town." The Montezuma Baptist Church was admitted into the Northern Virginia Baptist Association in 1885. In 1897 the name was changed to Mount Olive Baptist Church and the following year a half-acre parcel of land was purchased from Samuel and Emma J. Harris on Mill Road in Centreville. The Reverend William Smith guided the members in building the first church edifice and the church buildings have evolved over time, the most recent being constructed in 2009.
The charter members and founders were: Emma Harris, Allison Smith, Julia Chloe, Lum Chloe, William Chloe, William Smith, William Sprow, Joseph Long, Alexander Brown, Mary Lancaster and Mary Henderson. The first deacons were: William Sprow, William Chloe and Joseph Long.

Montezuma Baptist Church

6600 Old Centreville Rd, Centreville, VA 20121

Sully

“Bush Town” may be a reference to the formation of the Montezuma church. A facetious (and bigoted) An 1886 article in the Fairfax Herald (and recounted in the Critic and Record) describes “Bush Town” residents who were from “the original colored primitive Baptist Church in the vicinity.”
Uniontown appears on contemporary maps, but its origins are unknown.

Courtesy of Mount Olive Baptist Church