Erected around 1930 on a natural rise, El Bethel Methodist Church in Amherst County is the second church built on the property and was constructed with materials recycled from the earlier circa-1857 church it replaced. One of two remaining public buildings of the once thriving Allwood community, the church is also one of two existing Great Depression-era churches in the county. Combining Classical Revival and Late Gothic Revival stylistic elements, the building’s only alteration since 1930 was a redesign of the pulpit during the 1960s. The building has significant features, including the property’s site design, the building’s temple form with portico, and, on the interior, its barrel-vaulted ceiling and collection of stained-glass windows. The church was used for regular church services until 1989, when its congregation merged with the Mount Pleasant Church and abandoned El Bethel. In 1999, the Pedlar Ruritan Club adopted the building as a community improvement project, and repaired and restored it. The same year, the Methodist Church deeded the property to the El Bethel Community Association, which uses the building for community and special events. Enhancing the site’s historical significance is the Allwood Cemetery, historically associated with, and located behind the church. Containing more than 300 graves, many those of former church members, it is the only active public burial ground in the area. In continuous use since 1899, the cemetery contributes to the El Bethel Methodist Church property’s overall historical significance.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia