Back to the Old 23rd

Department of the Interior/ U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge
3006 Dinkins Lane / Paris, TN 38242
Telephone731-642-2091 / FAX 731-644-3351



For Immediate Release
Contact: Joan Stevens


Refuge celebrates “Back to the Old 23rd”
This time as a fundraiser for historic Mt. Zion Church Restoration

Nestled in a wilder part of Henry County, stands an old historic church called Mt. Zion Church. Established in the 1850’s, the current building was built in 1897. A walk among the grounds gets you to humming the tune “Come to the Church in the Wildwood”. A step inside transfers you back to a time when life was simpler, harder, yet somehow more pure. You can almost see the congregation sitting there, ladies to one side and gentlemen on the other, listening to a fire and brimstone sermon delivered by a circuit rider preacher. No one worships there today, but oh what a connection it still has to the community, and what a great historic old place.

Mt. Zion Church was an active Baptist church at the old 23rd voting district up until the creation of Kentucky Lake and the refuge in 1945. The old church now stands as a unique part of refuge, which was instrumental in getting it placed on the National Register of Historic Places in the 1974. However, over the years this church has fallen into disrepair and is in danger of ruin if steps towards restoration are not taken soon. The refuge, not having complete funds for this historic restoration have called upon the Friends of Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge to assist in getting community support for this effort. They are sponsoring the event as a community fundraiser for the church restoration work.

Therefore, on Saturday, October 27th from 12:00 – 5:30 pm, the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge would like to invite you to an old fashioned church style “picnic on the grounds”at the Mt. Zion Church on the Big Sandy Peninsula. The picnic will include a hog roast, hamburgers, hotdogs, lemonade and all the fixings. There will be a speaker, hayrides, horseshoes, pitching washers, bingo, making rag dolls, sack races and the like, all to save this old historic church.

This event will ask folks to donate $5.00/person and bring a side dish to share. The day will begin with a “Picnic on the Grounds” from 12:00 – 1:00 pm. A hog donated by Tosh Farms will be cooked slowly all night for the hog roast. The Friends of TNWR will also be providing hamburgers, hotdogs and lemonade. If you attend the picnic, the public is asked to bring a side dish or dessert to share. The old fashioned style church picnic will be served outside along the sweeping lawn in front of the church. The servers for this picnic will be dressed in 1850’s costumes. Those attending the picnic will have plenty of time to explore the old church and the cemetery that lies beyond.

At 1:00 pm the featured speaker will be Larry Perry, author, historian who wrote the book “A Pictorial History of the Old 23rd District” which is a biography of the people and history of the Big Sandy Peninsula. After the speaker, the refuge will give a synopsis of report done by the National Park Service Historic Preservation Center in 2011. This is a detailed report of the current assessment, what needs to be done to the church and what it will cost to restore the structure. This fundraiser will be for the first and most important phase of the restoration that will keep the church from its current decline.

The afternoon will offer several concurrent activities from 2:00 – 5:00 pm in which the public can participate. Beginning at Mt. Zion church there will be hayrides interpretive hayrides led by Larry Perry. On the grounds will be many activities such as would happen at an old fashioned church gathering. The Friends video-taping and interviewing those folks that might remember stories of this unique place called the Old 23rd.

Nearby the church, visitors are also encouraged to hike along the newly restored Chickasaw National Recreation Trail or visit the Bennett’s Creek Observation Deck or simply drive along the road and enjoy the natural beauty of fall.

To find out more information about the sponsor group for the event, the Friends of Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge, or to find a map to this event, please visit their website at www.tnwrfriends.org.

To get to the Big Sandy Peninsula, the public will need to take highway 69A from Camden or Paris to the town of Big Sandy. Take Lick Creek Road from Big Sandy driving north for 12 miles. Turn left onto gravel at the refuge entrance sign and drive north for 1.5 miles turning left at Mt. Zion church. For more information about this event or Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge please contact the Paris headquarters at 731-642-2091 or visit the refuge website at www.fws.gov/TennesseeRefuge.

Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge, encompasing over 51,000 acres, is located on Kentucky Lake in northwest Tennessee. The refuge’s three units: Big Sandy, Duck River and Busseltown stretch for 65 miles along the Tennessee River. Established in 1945, the refuge is one of the older refuges in the country. It is managed as an important resting and feeding area for wintering waterfowl. The diversity of habitats found on the refuge units provide ample feeding, nesting and resting areas for 306 bird species, 51 types of mammals, 89 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 144 species of fish. A hotspot for fish diversity, this refuge can boast a greater fish species diversity than any other inland national wildlife refuge in the country. The primary management objective on the refuge is to provide food and protection for wintering migratory waterfowl.