Jefferson, Rev. J. J.

In 1884, he established a Sunday School on Williamson Road. That small gathering grew into the Third Baptist congregation, which built a modest church in 1890. When the building burned in 1893, the congregation met for five years at the now-razed Baker Hall on Gregory Avenue NE. In 1902, a new sanctuary was constructed, and the church was rechristened Mt. Zion Baptist Church. It stood at the corner of 4th and Madison until the Urban Renewal programs of the 1960s displaced the congregation. Mt. Zion later relocated to Grayson Avenue NW, and Magic City Ford now occupies the church’s original site.

Beyond his pastoral leadership at Mt. Zion, Reverend Jefferson was active in the Colored Baptist District Convention and the District Baptist Sunday School Convention, frequently speaking at annual gatherings and contributing to the spiritual and educational life of the community.

He was also a Mason and a stockholder in the Roanoke Auditorium Company, which constructed the Roanoke Auditorium in 1906 at the corner of Commonwealth and Wells NE. The venue hosted numerous performances over the decades, including an appearance by Elvis Presley. After the auditorium burned in 1957, the site was eventually replaced by the Berglund Center.

Reverend Jefferson married Mariah Leaks, and the couple had no children. He died on February 19, 1929, and rests beside his wife today at Old Lick Cemetery.