County of church: Franklin County
Location of church: MO-T & Laretto Ridge Drive, 3 miles SW of Labadie
Church built: 1868
Architect: Unknown
"SUMMARY: The Bethel Church is located in Franklin County, on Missouri Highway
T, 1½ miles west of the village of Labadie. The red brick building, covered
by a slate roof, rests on a quarried limestone block foundation. The exterior
of the building remains in excellent condition and reflects a simplicity of
the environment and the congregation at its time of origin. Constructed in
1868 in the Greek Revival style, the one-story building is rectangular in plan
(37' 9" wide X 59' 6" long X 21' 9" high exterior dimensions). Its height
extends to 33' at the peak of the gable roof. There is a balcony over the
narthex and ushers' room. Despite its small scale, the Bethel Church conveys
the strict formalism of its Greek Revival design. Although the setting has
been somewhat compromised by recent development, the Bethel Church retains
integrity of design, materials, workmanship, association, and location.
"NARRATIVE: The Bethel Church stands quietly on a hilltop overlooking the
church cemetery, located south of the church across Missouri Highway T, as a
silent witness and constant reminder of another date and time. Junior O'Brien
(George Phillips), who was killed in action on March 14, 1945, and was awarded
the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously, is buried here in Bethel
Cemetery. The main entrance to the old church faces south and is accessible
directly from Highway T. On the adjacent property to the west is a small one story
frame residential building, currently unoccupied, and a small two-story
wood frame residential building formerly used as the original schoolhouse for
this area. The adjacent property to the east is a residential development
consisting of three acre sites. The adjacent property to the north is open
lawn and slopes away from the old church, providing a pleasant view toward
open pasture land and the wooded area beyond. The entire site is lawn area
with several large trees. There are no paved drives or parking areas." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
"HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: This church, the "mother church" of Methodism in
Franklin County, originated from a camp ground established by Judge Henry
Brown on his farm in 1823. In 1814, Judge Brown and his brother, Joseph
Brown, were commissioned by the government to survey the Territory of Missouri
in anticipation of its eventual organization into a state. At this time there
were not any places of worship in this section of the territory. The
Methodist Conference, located in the states of Tennessee and Kentucky, had
sent out a few ministers to the territory as early as 1805, but few had
traveled this far west on the south side of the Missouri River. In 1807, the
area south of the Missouri River, including what became Labadie, was
designated the Meramec Circuit, St. Louis District. In 1823, Judge Brown, a
religious man, donated the ground for "Brown's Campground," located
approximately ҥ mile south of the village of Boles, Missouri, near Brown's
Spring. All races, white, red, and black, worshiped here. The three original
ministers were Jessie Green, Andrew Monroe, and W.W. Redment. In 1833, Judge
Brown donated another piece of ground for a log church, laying 3 2 miles
southeast of the campground, presently owned by Freida Casey. The log church
was completed in 1840 and named Bethel Church. Services were held in this
church until 1868.
"In 1866, the Meramec Circuit was renamed the Labadie Circuit. In July 1867,
it was decided that the log church was no longer adequate and that a new
church should be built. Accordingly, a parcel of ground was purchased from
C.C. Jones and a new church erected. Construction was completed in the fall
of 1868. The new Bethel Church, later the Bethel Methodist Church, was active
until 1891, when a new Methodist church was constructed in the village of
Labadie. Bethel Methodist Church was inactive for most of the 1900s except
for an occasional wedding or funeral.
"On August 3, 1988, the Friends of Old Bethel/Labadie Area was incorporated in
the State of Missouri as a non-profit corporation. Shortly thereafter, the
Methodist Church in Labadie deeded the Bethel Methodist Church to the Friends
of Old Bethel/Labadie Area." ~ NRHP Nomination Form