Church History

Founding and Early History

The Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church in Tyrrell County, NC is situated about three miles southeast of the town of Columbia, the county seat, and is near Rider's Creek.

The church was constituted in 1824 by Elders Micajah and James Ambrose. It united with the Kehukee Primitive Baptist Association the same year and had original 27 members, who mostly had come from another church at Scuppernong. Elder James Ambrose was called as the first pastor, and served until his death in 1830. The next pastor was Elder Micajah Ambrosebut he died after only a short ministry. The church was then without a regular pastor for many years but was served by mnisters from sister churches.

The church was initially known as "Sound Side". The name was changed to "Bethlehem" in 1846.

In 1842 William Reynolds, an immigrant from England, became a member of the church. In 1852 he was ordained to adminster gospel ordinances by a presbytery composed of Elders Clayton Moore and Eli McGaskey, and was immediately called as pastor for the church. Reynolds served as pastor for 26 years, until he died in October 1878 while returning home from a Kehukee Association meeting in Halifax County.

The Church Building and Grounds

William Reynolds was one of the trustees who on February 10, 1844 secured an acre of land from James A. Swain "for the purpose of building a House for divine service exclusively for the use and benefit and to be placed under the controll of the old school predestinarian baptist church ...."

The 30' x 40' structure was completed a few years later, and today appears physically little changed. Asbestos siding was applied to the exterior and interior renovations have included oak flooring, two bathrooms, electric light fixtures and two ceiling fans, but these have been additions of necessity and convenience and do not detract from the original appearance.

Of significant note are the twin entrance doors at the front of the church. In early Primitive Baptist days, the men sat on one side of the church and the women sat on the other side, and they used separate doors also. There was a "dividing line" down the center of the church (a ribbon) to preserve this separation.

There is also a cemetery behind the church, which contains the graves of former church members and their families. The following surnames appear in the church cemetery:

Holadia Barnes Parisher Voliva Sexton

Reynolds Brickhouse Cooper Liverman Tarkenton

Later Years

By the 1980's the Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church was down to a single member, Mrs. Nellie Holadia Barnes. Her father Joseph Holadia had been a church clerk at Bethlehem and was buried on the church grounds. Mrs. Barnes came to realize that there would be no new members of the church, and she became concerned about what would happen to the church building when she was gone. She had a strong desire to preserve the building, which is one of the oldest surviving structures in Tyrrell County.

Mrs. Barnes withdrew from the Kehukee Association to become an independent church, and in June 1992 deeded the church property to the Reynolds Family Association Trustees (which group includes descendants of Elder William Reynolds, former pastor at Bethlehem). It was later realized that in order to avoid property taxes the title must be held by a non-profit group, so the Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church Preservation Society was established in May 1997 as a non-profit corporation. In November 1997 the church property was deeded from the Reynolds Trustees to the Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church Preservation Society.

Mrs. Nellie Barnes passed away on November 19, 2000. She is buried in the cemetery at the Bethlehem Church which she so dearly loved.