Following the Civil War, African-American men and women began acquiring land in the Bethania Town Lot along this road, much of it purchased from the Oak Grove plantation where many of them had been enslaved. The area grew into a thriving historic African-American community with a church, school, stores, a canning factory, farms, and a popular fishing lake. The nearby church, established by Bethania Moravians in 1850, became Bethania A.M.E. Zion Church in 1875 and continues to serve at its original location. Descendants of early families continue to live in this historically significant community.