Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery

The story

Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com

Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery is a cemetery near Fredricksburg, in Stafford County, at 135 Chapel Green Rd. The congregation built its original church in 1870, and its present sanctuary, designed by architect Charles Smith, in the Gothic Revival style, went up in 1951.

Why it's listed

It was listed under criteria A and D, with local-level significance in Black ethnic heritage, historic non-aboriginal archeology and social history. The nomination gives its period of significance as 1870 to 1967, reflecting the congregation's original 1870 church and the sanctuary built in 1951.

Physical character

The 1951 sanctuary is brick and stucco under a metal roof, enlarged by a 1976 rear addition and a 2008 addition that replaced an older brick enclosure and steps with a foyer, side entrances and a stained glass window. Archaeologists in 2017 located the L-shaped brick and stone footing of the church razed in 1953 and found four unmarked burials nearby. The cemetery holds granite and concrete markers, six too weathered to read, and the headstone of Mamie L. Morton, dated 1878 to 1926, across its 2.136 acres.

Historical context

Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church organized in 1868, built its first church in 1870, and by 1939 was led by Elder Harry B. Williams.