Sailor's Bethel Methodist Church
The roots of this congregation can be traced to 1809,
when a house of worship was constructed to serve the
needs of the many residents of this area who were
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. First
known as Elzey Moore’s Meeting House, the name of the
church was formally changed to Wesley Chapel in 1825.
Following the closing of Wesley in 1852, members of
the congregation who resided in the vicinity of the
seafaring village of Lewisville conducted services in
area homes. In 1855 they constructed a church at this
location on land purchased from Bayard Moore. The
church became known as Sailor’s Bethel Methodist
Episcopal Church. In 1880 the name of Lewisville was
formally changed to Bethel, reflecting the importance
of this community institution. The present church was
built in 1884, and its name was subsequently
abbreviated to Bethel M.E. Church. With the discontinuation
of services at St. John’s Methodist Protestant
Church in 1902, many of its members joined the
Bethel congregation. Their former church was
obtained and converted for use as the Community Hall.
This site was added to the National Register of
Historic Places in 1975. In 2004 the members of
the church elected to reclaim the historical name
of Sailor’s Bethel Church.
Marker is at the intersection of Main Street and Main Avenue on Main Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
