Historic Bethlehem Church & Cemetery

In 1831, James Julian donated the land to establish Bethlehem Church, which became part of the Holston Conference and Little River Circuit. A log structure is said to have existed in the early days of the church. The present-day structure was build circa 1866 in the Gothic Revival Style. It is the only church in Blount county whose exterior is unaltered. Interior lighting was added by the congregation in the 1920s. In July 1989, the Bethlehem Methodist Church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Continued: The adjoining cemetery was established in 1887 when Elizabeth Peery Cummings donated additional land for the church and cemetery 24 years after burying her husband, Franklin Cummings. Among the veterans buried here are at least 12 Civil War Union soldiers, including three survivors of the 1865 explosion and sinking of the steamboat Sultana, the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history. In 1969, Sara and Robert McKenry, Sr. donated land for the cemetery's expansion.