Mount Bethel Academy

Front: Located about one mile northeast on land conveyed by Edward Finch, this school, the first Methodist educational venture in the state, was established by Bishop Francis Asbury and opened by him, 1795. A number of Mt. Bethel students became the first S.C. College graduates. The first Methodist conference in S.C. outside Charleston met here at Finch's house in 1793. Reverse: Among the leading citizens who attended this school, opened 1795 and closed ca.1820, was William Harper, United States Senator and Judge. William Harper was the son of John Harper, who in 1803 founded Washington Street United Methodist Church in Columbia and is buried in the cemetery near the Mount Bethel school site.