Bethel (Black River) Baptist Church was organized in 1780 and admitted to the Charleston Baptist Association in 1782. Its mother church was High Hills Baptist Church. Bethel was incorporated in December 1823, and the Reverend Solomon Thomson served as its first pastor. John China, a Revolutionary War veteran, is buried in the cemetery. The land for the church was donated by Hezekiah and Jesse Nettles. The present sanctuary, the third on this site, was erected in 1849 of dense-grained Rosemary pine, with all material cut and sawed by hand and the joints mortised and pegged. In 1967 a remodeling preserved the original dimensions, roof line, framing timbers, flooring, ceiling, and gallery.