Bethel Missionary Baptist Church (1875-Present)

Organized around 1875 in the Walter Hill community, Bethel Missionary Baptist Church has built five buildings in three locations. The first El' Bethel structure was built prior to 1875 on land owned by Richard Crawford, one of the six organizers. Little Bethel was built around 1878. Bethel Missionary Baptist Church was built in the current location in 1958. Pastor Cornelius "Neil" Crutcher was the first pastor, serving 49 years. A Sergeant with Company B, he served with the 111th U. S. Colored Troops during the Civil War. In 1913 the United Sons of Relief Lodge #1 established a cemetery on adjacent church property and donated it to the church in 1976. Continued: Under the auspices of the Rosenwald Fund, the community and county funds, the Bethel School was established. A second Bethel School was built after a fire in 1958. It closed ten years later after school desegregation. In 1993, Bethel Missionary Baptist Church moved into a new building. Mother's Day 2003, a tornado damaged the R. L. Evans Christian Life Center. The congregation constructed another building, moving in on June 15, 2008.