Bethsalem Presbyterian Church

Bethsalem Presbyterian Church is a Tennessee historical marker in McMinn County.

McMinn Co, Athens in front of Church church on Athens-Etowah Hwy

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In August 1866, the Bethsalem Presbyterian Church was the first African-American church organized in the area of McMinn, Meigs, and Polk counties. The church had its start in a brush arbor until the congregation built a log cabin which served as a church on Sundays and a school during the week. In the 1920s the building burned and was rebuilt by friends and neighbors. During the month of August. this building is used by the members to celebrate their annual homecoming.

TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1844 · Kentucky (H. S. Tanner, 1844) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1862 · Johnson's Kentucky & Tennessee (1862) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1864 · Kentucky And Tennessee (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1886 · Cleveland, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1895 · Gen. map VII. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

More markers nearby

On the National Register nearby

Beth Salem Presbyterian Church140 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.