Mt. View Missionary Baptist Church

One of the earliest African-American schools established in the Rutherford County, TN Public School System was the Mt. View School (1870-1918). In 1870, Clem Ross gave an initial site to the school and church. In 1873, Richard Benson bought 10 acres of land in the fourth district of Rutherford County. In 1874, he sold 1/4 acre to the trustees of the Mt. View School House for the use of the school and the church. The cost was $5.00. The school and the church initially shared the same building. The School House Trustees were: Peter Ross, Booker Ross, Abram Ross, and Richard Ross. The school was built by the Ross family and the Mt. View Church community. The school closed in 1918 and the students transferred to Rucker Hill School and were later consolidated with the Smyrna Rosenwald School. The church continued in the same location for years. (To be continued).