About half a mile northwesterly, Bethel, meaning "House of God" was opened in 1822 as one of thirteen Choctaw mission stations. Indians, slaves, and other men "labored hard during four weeks ... frequently till 10 o'clock at night, by the light of the moon or large fires" to clear the forest and erect the buildings.
The missionaries who took the gospel to the wilderness also taught farming, carpentry, weaving, and housekeeping as well as reading, writing, and arithmetic to Choctaw and other area children. In 1826, people moved from the Trace to new road and Bethel was closed.
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