The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-By-The-Sea, east of this site, was built in 1894, and its last service was held on Easter Sunday, April 12, 1925. Most worshippers came by boat because there was no roadway to the church, which was bordered on the east by an extensive marsh. The original Bethesda-By-The-Sea edifice, built nearby in 1889, was the only church building within a radius of 150 miles.