On Thursday, March 2, 1950, what seemed like disaster struck Zion Church. The Women’s Guild was holding its monthly meeting, and the pastor had just finished showing a motion picture to the group, when someone noticed the smell of smoke. The smoke was noticed coming from a crack in the chimney in the church hall, where the group was meeting. The Pastor went into the basement and noticed flames at the base of the chimney, and immediately sounded the alarm. The fire had already made much progress and smoke was coming from the steeple when the fire department arrived. The fire spread from the chimney, which was situated between the hall and church, up through the area between the ceiling and roof of the church, and out the steeple on the east end of the church. The fire departments of New Baden, Mascoutah, and Trenton responded to the alarm, and through the valiant efforts of the town and the sub-freezing weather hindered the efforts of the firemen, and water was still being poured around 9 p.m. (the fire started around 3:45 p.m. the same day). Most of the furnishings, including the art glass windows which had been installed in June of 1949, were saved. The organ was destroyed by water. The damage was estimated $11,040.55 by the insurance adjuster, and a claim of $10,358.66 was paid by the Mutual Fire and Storm Insurnace Co. of Burlington, IA.