Bethlehem Baptist Church

The oldest black Baptist congregation extant in Terrell, this church traces its history to 1877, when a group of worshipers led by missionary A. R. Griggs met under a brush arbor. With the Rev. P. W. Upshaw serving as first pastor, church members erected a sanctuary at what is now the 400 block of East Grove Street. The building was moved to the corner of S. Virginia and Cottage streets in 1889. A new facility, built in the early 1900s, was relocated to this site in 1929. It was destroyed in a 1939 fire and replaced by a new structure in 1940. (1989)