Old Bethel Methodist Church
(Front text)
This church, built in 1797 in the meeting-house form, was dedicated in 1798 and completed
in 1809. It is the oldest Methodist church standing in Charleston. Originally at the corner of Pitt and Calhoun
Streets, Bethel Methodist Church was a congregation of white and black members, both free blacks and slaves.
Many blacks left the church in 1833 during a dispute over seating. Though some later returned, many did not.
(Reverse text)
In 1852 the congregation moved this building west to face Calhoun Street, to make
room for a new brick church, completed the next year. This church, called “Old Bethel,” was used for Sunday
school before its black members acquired it in 1876. They kept the name Old Bethel and moved the church to this
location in 1882. Old Bethel Methodist Church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
Marker is on Calhoun Street near Pitt Street, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
