Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1909-09-01
Historical Sketch of Bethesda
Presbyterian Church

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Bethesda Presbyterian church at Rock
bridge Baths, prepared by the pastor
Rev. Henry Miller. and delivered be
fore the congregation Sunday night
August 20, 1907
A brief history OF Bethesd;
church is not apt to be uninterest
ing reading. Mountain and rive
and plain conspire to make it beau
tiful for situation. The nelghbor
hood nestles up against the grea
North Mountain, and receives int
its bosom North River as it emerge.
from the Goshen Pass, and, thence
over many a rapid to the James
and on it's course to the sea. JUMP
Mountain rears it's hoary head to
ward heaven, and stands agrim bu
faithful sentinel, keeping watcf
over the homes that lie in the val
ley below. The picturesque scenes
hereabouts, may be surpassed by
some more majestic o; sublime, bu'
by none more beautiful; and, wher
once beheld, linger in the mind 6
delightful memory.
Bethesda church. about ten miles
each from Lexington and Goshen
in Rockbridge comfy. is on the
highway that from the earliest set
Element of the Valley, has been the
popular one leading toward the
north. and through the Goshen Pass.
1t sits on a hill hundred yards
above the river, at the lower end
Of Rockbridge Baths, village that
struggles up the stream for q mile
and half. The Baths, quarter OF
mile away, and Wilson's Spring,
two miles up the river, are attractive
features in the vicinity. Wilson's
Spring, formerly known as Strick-
ler's Spring, was given by the
grandfather of DR.. G. B. Stricken
by deed to the people OF Rockbridge
county so that they might ever have
the free use Gifts bene6cent waters.
Bethesda is compact congrega-
ton of six miles by eight, with the
outlying neighbors OF Emmanuel,
New Providence, Fairfield, Timber
Ridge, Lexington, New Monmouth
and Kerr's Creek, and to the north
and over the mountains, Goshen.
Not one of the oldest churches, it
may be described as one of the older
ones. 1t was a colony from no one
church, but lying almost equally
distant from the older churches
around it, those people living near
by constituted it, together with
several families of Seceders, who in
after years we're identified with it.
Bethesda church was organized
at Wilson's Spring, April 81, 1921,
by a commission of Lexington Pres
bytery, consisting of Rev. Andrew
B. Davidson and Rev. John B. Tor
d. Ewing, with fourteen members.
The names ofonly two OF these are
preserved for US: John McCown
and John Welsh, who we're elected
elders that day, and thus formed
the FIRST session OF the church.
The people settling here were
nearly all either Scotch-Irish or
German. The fact that there has
been large population hereabouts,
is established by the number OF
grounds within the bounds
Of this congregation-beside the
act that so many emigrated and
lived and died elsewhere. There are
zen of them!as follows: Wilson Spring
graveyard; A. A. McCurdy grave
yard; William Hall graveyard;
church graveyard; Nc
1lwee Chapel graveyard; William
rooman graveyard; A, M. Ander-
son graveyard; Stuart graveyard;
Bethesda church graveyard.
Following are the names of the
antilles buried at Bethesda: An
lrews (6rst person buried, Ster-
'ett, Anderson, Mohler, Snyder,
Armentrout. Hart, Trevey, McCown,
NeCurdy, Adams, Little, Firebaugb,
Nhitmore, Webb, Stricken, Horn,
Wilson, Foutz, Wander
'eer, Davis, Gaylor, Withrow, Hum
,hris, Kennedy, Mccormick, Con-
Ter, Thompson, McMaster, Lackey, |
shaw, Connevey, Moore, Teaford,
'ulwider, Bare, Logan, Culton,
copper, Heron
MIR. John Horn in his history of
Bethesda church (Feb. II, 1884, |
ellis US that at the time OF the or
ANIMATION, we had no house of wor-
hip; and, that for few years, the
'eople assembled for worship at
he Sprin2s and at school houses,
vhen arrangements were made with
he Methodist congregation by
which they could use their church.
t was a log house and stood just
bove where the old church was
gently demolished.
Mathew White in 1912 gave by