Bethesda Baptist Church was organized in 1785 as Whatley’s Mill Church in Wilkes County, before that area was added to Greene in 1802. When the present building was erected in 1818, the church’s name was changed to Bethesda. Jesse Mercer served as pastor for a number of years and ordained Adiel Sherwood there as a minister of the Gospel. The substantial brick structure reflects a section that was then populous and wealthy, and in the church’s early days worshipers, fearing attack by Indians, carried their guns to services.