Bethesda Presbyterian Church (Aberdeen, North Carolina)

Bethesda Presbyterian Church is a historic Presbyterian church located on NC 5 in Aberdeen, Moore County, North Carolina.

Bethesda Presbyterian Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Bethesda Presbyterian Church, September 2011
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Location	NC 5, Aberdeen, North Carolina
Coordinates	35°7′52″N 79°24′45″W
Area	22.2 acres (9.0 ha)
Built	1860 (1860)
Built by	McLeod, Archie; McCaskill, Norman
NRHP reference No.	79003345[1]
Added to NRHP	July 22, 1979

Architecture

It is a two-story, vernacular frame meeting house. It rests on tall granite piers, is sheathed in weatherboard, and has a hipped roof. The front facade features a projecting two-stage bell tower.^[2] The upper gallery of the church were originally reserved for slaves.^[3]

History

A Presbyterian congregation was established in Aberdeen in 1788,^[4] founded by Highland Scots who emigrated to North Carolina. They built a church in the early 1800s but their congregation had outgrown the building by 1859.^[3] In 1860,^[2] a new church was constructed at the site.^[3] It was the third church built on those grounds and was dedicated on May 10, 1862.^[4]

During the American Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman's army camped on the church's grounds.^[5] The exterior sustained bullet holes during the war, which are visible today.^[6]

In 1907, the congregation moved to a larger space,^[3] a newly constructed Gothic Revival Bethesda Presbyterian Church on High Street.^[7] The original 1860 church building has since been preserved in its original condition.^[3] The Old Bethesda Cemetery Association was formed to maintain the church and its cemetery in 1927.^[2]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.^[1] It is now the oldest surviving church in Aberdeen.^[3] It is often used as a venue for weddings and other events.^[6]

Cemetery

Also on the property is the Bethesda Cemetery which has historically been used by both the church's congregation and members of adjacent communities.^[2] Several historical figures, including Allison Francis Page, Aberdeen's founder,^[8] Walter Hines Page,^[5] Frank Page,^[9] and Robert N. Page,^[10] are buried there.