Old Bethel

Panola County, TX

Status: Located

Year Established: Unknown

Council of Governments: ETCOG

Public History: There are no current descriptions related to Old Bethel in the public record. If you are aware of any sources that we may have missed please share them with us.

Community History: Old Bethel Baptist Church was founded in 1843 by Rev. Isaac Reed and Lemuel Herrin for white settlers and the enslaved. The location was then known as Reeds Settlement. After the Civil War, the white members left the church and built a new one in Clayton, also named Bethel. The formerly enslaved continued to worship here as the Old Bethel congregation. The East Texas Bethel Association was organized in 1886 at the Old Bethel Baptist Church under the leadership of Moderator CM Butler. The congregation celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2018.

Cemetery: Old Bethel Cemetery

Church: Old Bethel Baptist Church