The small farming town of Brinson, Georgia, takes its name from its founder, Simeon Brinson, who built the town with the help of his sons, Jason and Homer. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, Brinson is well worth a visit for its charm and history.

Simeon Brinson served as a private in the Fifth Georgia Cavalry during the Civil War. After the war, he settled in the area that would become Brinson. He and later his son Jason farmed extensive acreage, operated the town’s principal cotton warehouse, and managed its only bank. Simeon also served as mayor in 1907 and again from 1913 to 1914, as well as two terms (1909–1912) in the Georgia General Assembly. The town’s Methodist congregation began as the Spring Creek Mission, organized in 1867 with 20 members who first met in a field. Rev. Willis M. Russell, a local preacher, served as the first pastor for the four years the mission operated under that name. Their first building, constructed of logs, had no window shutters or doors.

Later renamed Mt. Zion, the congregation moved into a second building of frame construction. In those days, members arrived at church in wagons and buggies, and the ladies would dismount onto a special “stepping stone” hewn from rock. This stone now rests in the yard of the present church.

The current sanctuary was built in 1901, with the pulpit and choir loft remodeled and a Sunday School room added in 1933. Through more than 150 years of change, the church has remained a steadfast part of the Brinson community—a place where faith, history, and small-town traditions continue to thrive.