{"nrhp_refnum":"98000967","name":"Bethesda Baptist Church and Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Jct. of Cty Rd. 120 and Cty Rd. 129","address_restricted":false,"city":"Union Point","county":"Greene County","state":"GA","lat":33.651655499500066,"lon":-83.01007858159952,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-08-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Education"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A rural Baptist church complex near Union Point in Greene County, Georgia, centered on a two-story brick Federal-style church built about 1818, with a cemetery, baptismal spring and pool, and later additions.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is one of the oldest surviving church buildings in Georgia and among the oldest in brick, with a fine rural example of vernacular Federal architecture. It is also significant in religion because the congregation, organized in 1785, has met continuously on the same site and reflects early Baptist presence in the state.","narrative":"Bethesda Baptist Church and Cemetery occupies 10.75 acres at a rural crossroads in Greene County, Georgia, beside forest land. The centerpiece is a brick church, about 40 by 60 feet, built between 1815 and 1818 from locally made bricks. Its Federal-style features include flat jack arches over doors and windows, gable returns, thin cornices, and a wooden east gallery added in the 1850s. The congregation began in 1785 as Whatley's Mill, and Jesse Mercer, an early Baptist leader, led the dedication service on December 20, 1818. In 1836 the church licensed a Black preacher to minister to the enslaved and other Black residents nearby. The grounds also hold a natural baptismal spring, a brick-and-concrete baptismal pool from 1906, a well, and a cemetery laid out in 1888 to a plan drawn in New York. Later additions include a 1960 classroom wing and a 1974 Sunday School building. It was listed for its early brick architecture and its long Baptist history.","period_of_significance":"1818-1948","architect_builder":"unknown","architectural_style":"Early Republic: Federal (vernacular Federal)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Well-maintained and in excellent condition; the congregation remains active, with weekly services, and the cemetery is still in use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:42.902776-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/98000967.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000967/3aeaea379b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000967/3aeaea379b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"A P Wood","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bethesda_Baptist_Church_original_building.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">A P Wood</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:Bethesda_Baptist_Church_original_building.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93208470","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethesda_Baptist_Church_and_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55605273"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/greene-county/bethesda-baptist-church-and-cemetery-98000967/"}