{"nrhp_refnum":"78002020","name":"Bethel Methodist Church","other_names":["Old Bethel","Collins Chapel"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1 mi. N of Bantam on Elk Lick Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bantam","county":"Clermont County","state":"OH","lat":39.00722485500006,"lon":-84.13826461999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-08-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A rectangular frame church with a stone foundation and a bell tower, on Elk Lick Road about one mile north of Bantam, Clermont County, Ohio. A log church was first built in 1805; the frame building dates from 1818 and was remodeled in 1867.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a good example of pioneer church architecture in southwestern Ohio. It is also a memorial to the early settlers of the New Jersey Settlement and the founding of Bantam. Its builder and minister, John Collins, was instrumental in spreading Methodism in southern Ohio.","narrative":"Old Bethel, also called Collins Chapel, is a small frame church with a stone foundation on Elk Lick Road, about a mile north of Bantam in Clermont County, Ohio. A log church stood on the site first, followed by a frame building in 1818 that was remodeled in 1867. The gabled structure has a bell tower at its east end, an unusual paneled-door entrance with no facade windows, and four bays of 12-over-12 windows along each side. It was built by John Collins, a Methodist minister and circuit rider from New Jersey who bought land in the Virginia Military Tract in 1803 and settled other New Jersey families there. He helped start Methodist churches in several Ohio towns, and the church served as the community's social center. The success of the New Jersey Settlement led to the founding of Bantam in the 1820s. The graveyard holds the maternal grandparents of Ulysses Grant. The church was listed as an example of pioneer church architecture.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"John Collins","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition, altered, unoccupied and being restored; the roof was rebuilt and bell tower repaired in 1976, with interior repairs under way.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.857435-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/78002020.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002020/ac995d5bde-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002020/ac995d5bde-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Aesopposea","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BantamBethelMethodistChurch.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Aesopposea</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BantamBethelMethodistChurch.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71987144","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethel_Methodist_Church_(Bantam,_Ohio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4897916"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/clermont-county/bethel-methodist-church-78002020/"}