Prior to 1881, there was no Baptist church between Hillsborough and Burlington, North Carolina. Between these two small towns was a small community called Cheeks’ Crossing. Many of the people that lived in the community began to talk about building a church and wanted to buy land. In 1879, Mr. William Whitted said he would donate the land for a church, if they would accept the gift in honor of his sick wife, Mariah Whitted. The gift was accepted and the church was built and named Mount Moriah.
In 1881, Dr. J.H. Dunston was called as pastor, and the church was officially organized in August of that year. It was the first Baptist church for blacks in the Mebane area. Dr. Dunston, was born October 3, 1851 in Wake County. Being a very ambitious youth, he grew up with little education, yet through hard study, he became a knowledgeable preacher and was honored with a Doctorate of Divinity degree at Blythe National Religious Training School in Durham, North Carolina.
Dr. Dunston served as Moderator of the New Hope Association for a period of 35 years and also served as Treasurer of the Sunday School Convention. At the time of his death, Dr. Dunston had served 49 years at Mount Moriah Baptist Church.
Mount Moriah served as an inspiration for other churches to be built in the area. Mebane First Baptist Church on Lane Street and Bethsada Baptist church on Mebane-Oaks Road, are daughter churches of Mount Moriah.
On Christmas morning in 1995, Mount Moriah was destroyed by fire. More than a building vanished with the fire. The faith of its members became stronger as a result of what had happened on a morning when Christians everywhere were celebrating the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ.
The groundbreaking service for the current structure was held in May 1997, and the construction began in October of that same year. In December of 1998, the construction was completed, and the congregation marched back home. Since that time we have been on a mission to take the “Gospel” into the world using the various vehicles of ministry that make up the Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Mebane, North Carolina.
