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Bethel AME Church

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1882; 1910 addition. 895 Oak St.
  • (Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, A Division of the Department of Arkansas Heritage)

Bethel AME Church, the oldest surviving religious building in Batesville, replaced a wooden church of 1880 that burned. The church is built of locally quarried ashlar sandstone, and four of the African American quarry workers were members of the church. The rectangular sanctuary is entered through a small narthex at the base of the square tower, which stands at the center of the facade. A small rectangular wooden cupola completes the tower, and the church’s windows are round and segmental arched. The simple interior features a large gilded and carved arch mounted on the wall behind the pulpit. The church was later expanded with an ell to provide additional seating for the growing membership and more recently a fellowship hall was built to the rear of the church.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Cyrus A. Sutherland with Gregory Herman, Claudia Shannon, Jean Sizemore Jeannie M. Whayne and Contributors
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Data

Timeline

  • 1882

    Built

  • 1910

    Addition

What's Nearby

Old Independence Regional Museum (Arkansas National Guard Building)
Morrow Hall (Arkansas College)
Houses on East Boswell Street
Houses on East Main Street
Casey House

Related Essays

The Building Culture of the African Methodist Episcopal Church

Citation

Cyrus A. Sutherland with Gregory Herman, Claudia Shannon, Jean Sizemore Jeannie M. Whayne and Contributors, "Bethel AME Church", [Batesville, Arkansas], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/AR-01-IN14.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of Arkansas

Buildings of Arkansas, Cyrus A. Sutherland and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018, 87-87.

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