National Register of Historic Places

Bethesda Presbyterian Church

Aberdeen, Moore County, North Carolina
Listed
July 21, 1979
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
79003345

About this property

Bethesda Presbyterian Church is a historic Presbyterian church located on NC 5 in Aberdeen, Moore County, North Carolina. 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. The upper gallery of the church were originally reserved for slaves. A Presbyterian congregation was established in Aberdeen in 1788, 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. In 1860, a new church was constructed at the site. It was the third church built on those grounds and was dedicated on May 10, 1862. During the American Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman's army camped on the church's grounds. The exterior sustained bullet holes during the war, which are visible today. In 1907, the congregation moved to a larger space, a newly constructed Gothic Revival Bethesda Presbyterian Church on High Street. The original 1860 church building has since been preserved in its original condition. The Old Bethesda Cemetery Association was formed to maintain the church and its cemetery in 1927. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It is now the oldest surviving church in Aberdeen. It is often used as a venue for weddings and other events. Also on the property is the Bethesda Cemetery which has historically been used by both the church's congregation and members of adjacent communities. Several historical figures, including Allison Francis Page, Aberdeen's founder, Walter Hines Page, Frank Page, and Robert N. Page, are buried there.

Location

Aberdeen, Moore County, North Carolina
35.13219, -79.41250

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

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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Nearby Historic Sites

Blue, Malcolm, Farm
Industrial
0.3 mi
Blue, John, House
Industrial
0.6 mi
Aberdeen Historic District
Listed
0.7 mi
Shaw House
Industrial
2.6 mi
Southern Pines Historic District
Listed
3 mi

Questions about this property

When was Bethesda Presbyterian Church listed on the National Register?

Bethesda Presbyterian Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 21, 1979.

What type of historic resource is Bethesda Presbyterian Church?

Bethesda Presbyterian Church is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Bethesda Presbyterian Church?

The period of significance for Bethesda Presbyterian Church is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Bethesda Presbyterian Church?

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