Bethel Methodist Church was founded in 1827 by the Rev. Ebenezer MacGowan (1767 - 1850), who gave the land and built the first log church. Born in London, England, he was the son of the Rev. John MacGowan, a contemporary of John Wesley. At age 17, he emigrated to America and settled in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Asbury in 1798, moved with his family by oxcart to Rutherford County in 1816, and is buried in the family cemetery nearby.