Ebenezer Academy, Bethany Presbyterian Church and Cemetery

Last updated
Ebenezer Academy, Bethany Presbyterian Church and Cemetery
Ebenezer Academu.jpg
Ebenezer Academy, c. 1823
USA North Carolina location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationU.S. 21, near Statesville, North Carolina
Coordinates 35°51′43″N80°50′41″W / 35.86194°N 80.84472°W / 35.86194; -80.84472
Area6.3 acres (2.5 ha)
Built1823 (1823) (academy), c. 1855 (church building)
Architectural stylevernacular Greek Revival
MPS Iredell County MRA
NRHP reference No. 80002857 [1]
Added to NRHPDecember 8, 1980

Ebenezer Academy, Bethany Presbyterian Church and Cemetery is a historic school building, Presbyterian church, and cemetery located six miles north of Statesville in Bethany Township, Iredell County, North Carolina. The log building was constructed in 1823 and housed Ebenezer Academy. The church building was built about 1855, and is a one-story, three bay by five bay, vernacular Greek Revival style frame building with a low gable roof. Also on the property is the contributing church cemetery with burials dating to about 1785. [2]

Contents

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. [1]

Bethany Presbyterian Church and cemetery

Bethany Presbyterian Church, c. 1855 Bethany Presbyterian Church.jpg
Bethany Presbyterian Church, c. 1855
1833 Map showing Concord and Bethany Presbyterian churches 1833 Map of Iredell County showing Concord and Bethany Churches.tif
1833 Map showing Concord and Bethany Presbyterian churches

The Bethany Presbyterian Church was an off-shoot of the Fourth Creek Congregation, located about six miles north of Statesville, North Carolina. After William Sharpe created his map of the Fourth Creek Congregation in 1773, it was decided to create two additional church congregations--Concord Presbyterian Church and Bethany Presbyterian Church. Members of the Bethany congregation were organized in 1775 and built the initial church building in 1777 along Fifth Creek north of the Fourth Creek Congregation. Dr. James Hall was appointed the pastor of all three churches on April 8, 1778. Dr. Hall lived in the area of the Bethany Church. After serving the three churches for 12 years, he decide to devote himself to Bethany, where he served for an additional 26 years and retired as pastor in 1816. [3]

The first black Presbyterian church in Iredell County was organized at Bethany by Rev. Murkland in October 1866. It was named Freedom Presbyterian Church. [3]

The existing Bethany Presbyterian Church was built in about 1855 to replace the one built in 1777. While it has undergone remodeling and additions, the exterior is similar to the initial building. The cemetery includes burials of many of the founding members. [2]

Ebenezer Academy

Ebenezer Academy was founded as a preparatory school by Presbyterian leaders in Iredell County in 1822. It was chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly. Several nephews of James Hall, an early Presbyterian scholar and founder of Clio's Nursery in Iredell County that closed in 1787, were the first principals and teachers. [4] [5] [3]

The curriculum at Ebenezer focused on English, grammar, and geography. An 1823 newspaper advertisement for the school stated "all branches of education required for admission into college, will here be taught. The Academy is in a rural situation, six miles from Statesville, so that students will be measurably free from temptations to vice." [6] Notable alumni included Thomas L. Clingman and Joseph Pearson Caldwell. The academy closed temporarily in 1856, due to the death of the principal James Crawford and lack of funding. It was reopened after the U.S. Civil War as a subscription school. The school was closed in 1903 after Iredell County public schools were built. [4] [7] [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iredell County, North Carolina</span> County in North Carolina, United States

Iredell County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 186,693. Its county seat is Statesville, and its largest community is Mooresville. The county was formed in 1788, subtracted from Rowan County. It is named for James Iredell, one of the first justices of the Supreme Court. Iredell County is included in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget, with data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statesville, North Carolina</span> City in North Carolina, United States

Statesville is a city in and the county seat of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and it is part of the Charlotte metropolitan area. Statesville was established in 1789 by an act of the North Carolina Legislature. The population was 28,419 at the time of the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Brick Church (Fairfield County, South Carolina)</span> Historic church in South Carolina, United States

Old Brick Church, which is also known as Ebenezer Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) Church or First Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church is a church built in 1788 about 4 mi (6 km) north of Jenkinsville on SC 213 in Fairfield County, South Carolina. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places on August 19, 1971. It is one of the few 18th-century churches surviving in the South Carolina midlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethesda Presbyterian Church (Houstonville, North Carolina)</span> Historic church in North Carolina, United States

Bethesda Presbyterian Church, Session House and Cemetery is a historic Presbyterian church, session house, and cemetery located in Chambersburg Township, Iredell County, North Carolina. It was built in 1853, and is a one-story, three bay by five bay, rectangular vernacular Greek Revival style frame church. It has a pedimented, temple form, front gable roof and an unusual front recessed balcony. It is the oldest church building in Iredell County. Also on the property is the contributing session house, also built in 1853, and church cemetery with about 200 gravestones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snow Creek Methodist Church and Burying Ground</span> Historic church in North Carolina, United States

Snow Creek Methodist Church and Burying Ground is a historic Methodist church building and cemetery located about 10 miles north of Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina. The church was established in 1801. The existing church building was built in 1884–1885, and is a one-story, one bay by four bay, rectangular frame church in the late Greek Revival style. It has a steep gable roof and vestibule added in the mid-20th century. Also on the property is the contributing church cemetery, which dates from 1780. Graves in the cemetery include that of William Sharpe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damascus Baptist Church Arbor</span> Historic church in North Carolina, United States

Damascus Baptist Church Arbor is a historic Baptist church arbor located in Sharpesburg Township south of Love Valley, Iredell County, North Carolina. It was built in 1855, and is an open rectangular structure measuring 35 feet by 55 feet. The Damascus Baptist Church Arbor continues to be used for brush arbor revivals. It has a gable-on-hip roof and hand hewn, pegged frame, log rafters. The arbor is part of a Damascus Baptist Church complex that includes a church, education building, and cemetery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Center Street A.M.E. Zion Church</span> Historic church in North Carolina, United States

Center Street A.M.E. Zion Church is a historic African Methodist Episcopal Zion church located on S. Center Street in Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina. It was built in 1903, and is a one-story, three bay by seven bay, Late Gothic Revival style brick building. It has a steep gable roof sheathed in pressed tin and features two corner entrance towers of unequal height and a large, pointed arch stained glass window. The church also goes by the name Mount Pleasant AME Zion Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thyatira Presbyterian Church, Cemetery, and Manse</span> Historic site in Rowan County, North Carolina, US

Thyatira Presbyterian Church, Cemetery, and Manse is a historic church at 220 White Road off NC 150 in Mill Bridge in Rowan County, North Carolina, ten miles west of the town of Salisbury. Presbyterians have been worshiping at this site since at least 1753.

Houstonville is an unincorporated community in the Eagle Mills Township of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States. Houstonville is located on U.S. Route 21, 3.3 miles (5.3 km) north of Harmony. Houstonville was founded in 1789 by Christopher Houston and is the second oldest town in Iredell County after the county seat, Statesville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethany Township, Iredell County, North Carolina</span> Township in North Carolina, United States

Bethany Township is a non-functioning administrative division of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States. By the requirements of the North Carolina Constitution of 1868, the counties were divided into townships, which included Bethany township as one of sixteen townships in Iredell County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chambersburg Township, North Carolina</span> Township in North Carolina, United States

Chambersburg Township is a township in Iredell County, North Carolina, United States. The 2010 United States Census reported a total population of 11,344.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concord Township, Iredell County, North Carolina</span> Township in North Carolina, United States

Concord Township is a non-functioning administrative division of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States. By the requirements of the North Carolina Constitution of 1868, the counties were divided into townships, which included Concord township as one of sixteen townships in Iredell County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olin Township, Iredell County, North Carolina</span> Township in North Carolina, United States

Olin Township is a non-functioning administrative division of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States. By the requirements of the North Carolina Constitution of 1868, the counties were divided into townships, which included Olin township.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cool Springs Township, Iredell County, North Carolina</span> Township in North Carolina, United States

Cool Springs Township is a non-functioning administrative division of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States. By the requirements of the North Carolina Constitution of 1868, the counties were divided into townships, which included Cool Springs township as one of sixteen townships in Iredell County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eagle Mills Township, Iredell County, North Carolina</span> Township in North Carolina, United States

Eagle Mills Township is a rural, non-functioning subdivision of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States. By the requirements of the North Carolina Constitution of 1868, the counties were divided into townships, which included Eagle Mills. Eagle Mills Township was named for the town of Eagle Mills, which was established by Andrew Baggerly on Hunting Creek in 1848.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fourth Creek Congregation</span> Presbyterian group formed in 1750 in the Province of North Carolina, United States

The community of the Fourth Creek Congregation was a group of Scots-Irish Presbyterians who first arrived in the Province of North Carolina in the mid to late 1730s and established a congregation by 1750 under pastor John Thompson in Anson County which became Rowan County in 1753 and finally Iredell County in 1788. The site of the Fourth Creek Congregation was chosen as the location of the county seat of Iredell County in 1789 and was named Statesville in 1789. The Fourth Creek Presbyterian Church officially became the First Presbyterian Church of Statesville in 1875.

Mussenden Ebenezer Matthews (1750–1830) was an early settler in Iredell County, North Carolina, military officer in the American Revolution, speaker pro tem of the North Carolina House of Commons, plantation owner, and elder in the Fourth Creek Congregation Presbyterian Church.

The Concord Presbyterian Church was founded as an offshoot of the Fourth Creek Congregation in 1775. It was located west of the Fourth Creek Congregation that later became the center of the city of Statesville, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Hall (minister)</span> American colonial Presbyterian minister

Rev. James Hall, D.D. was a Presbyterian minister, chaplain in the Rowan County Regiment during the American Revolution, educator, and missionary in the Natchez area of the Mississippi Territory. He helped to found the Fourth Creek Congregation as its second minister. He was the first minister of Concord Presbyterian Church and Bethany Presbyterian Church in Iredell County, North Carolina on April 8, 1778.

References

Citations
  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Laura A. W. Phillips (February 1980). "Ebenezer Academy, Bethany Presbyterian Church and Cemetery" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Miller, Mildred J. (1980). The Genealogical Society of Iredell County (ed.). The Heritage of Iredell County. pp. 96–96., No. 91, Bethany Presbyterian Church
  4. 1 2 "Ebenezer Academy, North Carolina Historic Marker M-17" . Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  5. ↑ Rockwell, E. F. (1858). "The Second Classical School in Iredell County". North Carolina Journal of Education, I.
  6. ↑ (Salisbury) Western Carolinian, December 9, 1823, (Salisbury) Yadkin & Catawba Journal, July 14, 1829
  7. ↑
    • Coon, Charles L. (1915). North Carolina Schools and Academies, 1790-1840.
Bibliography
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.