Bethlehem Baptist Church

This is one of the few pre-Civil War churches organized by African-Americans for African-Americans. The original church was constructed in 1829 and donated in 1868 to the African-American Baptist congregation which was holding services there. The present building was constructed in 1898 using some of the original materials. The congregation was instrumental in the founding of Morris College in Sumter and the establishment of an African-American high school in Barnwell.