The Macksburg circuit of the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in the fall of 1874 and consisted of the following places: West Branch, Pleasant View, Hebron, Pleasant Valley and Skunk Hollow. The congregations of the last four held services in school houses. Pleasant Valley was organized by Rev. W. C. Williams, who preached his first sermon to this charge in the Peters school house, where services were held the six succeeding years and then the Pragg school house was used and the society came to be known as the Pleasant Valley class.

In 1881 Pleasant Valley class was consolidated with Skunk Hollow class and Zion Church was built by them in 1881-1882 on a corner lot in Section 25 of Scott Township. Frank Ullery was the first pastor with a congregation of 83 members.

Zion Methodist Episcopal Church

Photo Courtesy of Madison County Historical Society

In 1921, the church was federated and renamed the Zion Federated Church. The last record of church activity appeared in the Winterset News in 1933.

Unlike most of the rural churches which were either torn down or re-purposed as homes or storage buildings, the Zion Church received a new life as, in September, 1988, it was moved to the grounds of the Madison County Historical Museum and restored.

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