Bethel United Methodist Church/Bethel Masonic Lodge

Bethel: Giles County, Tennessee - Founded circa 1815 with a store and blacksmith shop, William R. Brown, known as "Good Billy" built Bethel's first church, a log structure, in 1817. In 1900, the Methodist(s) erected a new church a short distance from the original site. At one time Bethel had four stores, a cotton gin, post office, garage, doctor's office, pharmacy, and school. After fire destroyed Bethel's commercial district on July 3, 1954, the town never rebuilt the district. Side 2 Bethel Masonic Lodge - Completed in 1850 as a joint effort of local Masons and Methodists, Bethel's Masonic Lodge has served as church, school, and community center. The building survived an assault by Federal soldiers in 1862 and a 1954 fire that destroyed most of Bethel's downtown. The founder and first Worshipful Master of Masonic Chapter, 194 F. & A. M., Elihu Edmundson, also served as Grand Master of the State of Tennessee and other high offices of the order.