Zion Reformed Church traces its origins to 1806, when the German Reformed and Lutheran congregations in Perry County joined together to build the county’s first church, purchased this land on June 30, 1806, and shared the building on alternating Sundays until 1911. The congregation of Zion Reformed Church is the oldest in Perry County still in existence. In 1803, Reverend Johannes Christian Koenig, also known as John King, became the first minister to settle in Perry County and the founding minister for the German Reformed congregation. In 1805, Reverend Wilhelm Georg Forster, also known as William Foster, became the first Lutheran minister to settle in Perry County and the founding minister for the Lutherans. Zion (Ribel's) Church was built on this site in 1808 as a log structure in the Zion Ridge Cemetery beside the first school in Thorn Township, and the present Zion Reformed Church was built across the street from the original church in 1910.