About this property
Bethel Baptist Church is a historic Southern Baptist church near U.S. Route 68 in Fairview, Kentucky. It occupies the site where Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, was born in 1808. The current structure was built in 1901 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The congregation first formed on January 22, 1814, when fourteen members of West Fork Baptist Church branched off to form a new church. It was officially organized on March 22, 1816, with the first church located near Salubria Springs in Christian County. In 1823 the church relocated to a new site between the communities of Fairview and Pembroke. By 1884 the church had outgrown its building, and members decided to split into two churches for Fairview and Pembroke. After 70 Pembroke members formed their own church on July 3, 1884, the remaining congregants determined to buy the old Davis family property, where President of the Confederate States of America Jefferson Davis had been born in 1808. Consulting with Davis, ten Fairview trustees purchased the property and ceremonially deeded it to him. Per the agreement, Davis in turn donated the lot to Bethel Baptist Church on March 10, 1886. The former Davis homestead was demolished and replaced with a new Gothic Revival church; Davis attended the dedication in fall 1886. The church was struck by lightning and burned down on August 23, 1900. The current building was erected on the same site; it was dedicated on September 29, 1901. It followed a similar Gothic Revival design as the original, being constructed of various materials and including ornate detailing and a complex roof line. The most notable difference was the addition of a rear wing. Bethel Baptist Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 17, 1977.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Bethel Baptist Church listed on the National Register?
Bethel Baptist Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 17, 1977.
What type of historic resource is Bethel Baptist Church?
Bethel Baptist Church is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Bethel Baptist Church?
The period of significance for Bethel Baptist Church is recorded as the early_republic era, specifically around 1808.
Can I research the history near Bethel Baptist Church?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Bethel Baptist Church will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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