The settlement of Bethany was established near here in 1751 by John Gerar William DeBrahm, His Majesty's Surveyor General for the Southern District of North America. At first it was comprised of 160 Germans, and 11 months later the group was joined by an equal number of relatives and acquaintances. A commodious church edifice was built, along with a school house and a residence for the teacher. Bethany existed until the Revolution, but during that war it began to decay and was never rebuilt.