020-0111

Bethel Baptist Church

Chesterfield (County)

VLR Listing Date

1998-09-14

NRHP Listing Date

1999-02-22

NHL Listing Date

NA

NRHP Reference Number

99000141

Bethel Baptist Church, built in 1894, is a Gothic Revival brick building with decorative buttresses defining each bay. The Chesterfield County building features a steep, slate-covered gable roof. Many founding members descended from French Huguenots, and the form and detailing of the church appears to be based on French, rather than English Gothic, models. The interior displays a rib-vaulted chancel and tongue-and-groove, beaded-pine wainscoting and ceiling. This is the congregation’s third building, which replaced an 1820s meeting house. In 1907, 1980, and 1987 additions were made to the church for classroom and office space. Adjacent to the church sits a 1910 gymnasium, since used as the educational building/fellowship hall. During the antebellum years, the church had a large African American membership, and a separate black congregation formed during the Civil War. A handsome cast-iron fence encloses the cemetery, established in 1885.

Last Updated: June 2, 2023

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Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark

Photo credit: Calder Loth, 2021

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