Bethel Baptist Institutional Church

Bethel Baptist Institutional Church in Jacksonville was established in 1838. This Baptist church served a mainly African-American congregation. Bethel Baptist Institutional Church (Bethel Baptist Church) is the oldest Baptist congregation in Jacksonville. By 1859, the congregation had grown to almost 300 members. A new church was built in the early 1860s at the start of the U.S. Civil War. Shortly after completion of the new building, the Union Army occupied the church and turned it into a hospital facility to serve wounded soldiers. Over the years, Bethel Baptist Church (today Bethel Baptist Institutional Church) has undergone numerous changes and a relocation, with the current church building dating to 1904, but the community surrounding the church has continued to preserve the legacy of the original congregation. (National Park Service)