Bethel Academy was the first

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

school established in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

west of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

. Established by

Francis Asbury Francis Asbury (August 20 or 21, 1745 – March 31, 1816) was a British-American Methodist minister who became one of the first two bishop (Methodist), bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. During his 45 years in the col ...

in 1790, the school operated in present-day Jessamine County,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

until 1805.

Establishment

In 1789, Methodists in Kentucky (then the western part of the state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

) appealed to Bishop Asbury for assistance in establishing a school.Connelley, William Elsey, and Ellis Merton Coulter
''History of Kentucky''
Vol. I.

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

: American Historical Society, 1922, 278. Asbury promised aid conditional upon his memorialists' ability to secure at least of land. Accordingly, he embarked for Kentucky in the spring of 1790, reaching Lexington on the 12th of May.Young, Bennett Henderson
''A History of Jessamine County, Kentucky, From Its Earliest Settlement to 1898''
Courier-Journal Job Printing, 1898. After meeting with local Methodists and establishing the Kentucky

Conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

, Asbury departed for Jessamine County. There he met with Thomas Lewis, who donated sufficient land to found the school. With the assistance of Francis Poythress and John Metcalf, Asbury completed arrangements for the school. Founded in 1790 under the name of Bethel Academy, it was the first Methodist school in the United States west of the

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

, and the second in the nation.

Years of operation

Poythress directed the construction of the school building on the land given by Lewis. Located on bluffs overlooking a bend in the

Kentucky River The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River in Kentucky, United States. The river and its tributaries drain much of eastern and central Kentucky, passing through the Eastern Coalfield, the Cumberland Mountains, and the Bluegrass re ...

, near where the late-19th century High Bridge was constructed, the three-story structure sat in a prominent location. It was described by a later writer as strikingly beautiful and convenient for the establishment of a community. The school was completed in time for classes in 1794, with John Metcalf appointed as principal. The school was incorporated by an act of the

Kentucky legislature The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets annually in the ...

in 1798. Both before and after it opened, Bethel was a center of Methodism in central Kentucky. It hosted a return visit by Asbury in 1792 (during which time he advocated for its support), and the Kentucky Conference met at the school in 1797. The school was frequently in competition with Transylvania Academy, then a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

school.

Later history and closure

In 1803, Principal Metcalf moved to Nicholasville in the center of the county, where he opened a school under the name of "Bethel Academy." After this time, the original Bethel was reduced to a less significant status; it continued under the oversight of Nathaniel Harris until closure in 1805. Metcalf's school flourished for several decades, attaining renown as a private school of high quality. By the end of the nineteenth century, after years of extended agricultural depression reduced private wealth in the region, the school was turned over to the state and converted into a public school. When

John Wesley Hughes John Wesley Hughes (May 16, 1852 - February 22, 1932) was an American minister. He was born in Owen County, Kentucky and was converted at the age of sixteen in a Methodist revival meeting in an old schoolhouse. Hughes attended Kentucky Wesleyan C ...

established a Methodist college in the nearby community of Wilmore in 1890, his choice of the name Asbury College was partially inspired by the history of Bethel Academy. The site of Bethel Academy was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1984 as an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

. This reflects the existence of the school building long after its closure; as late as 1898, the site could be found without difficulty. Its ruins were still easily visible.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places 1790 establishments in Virginia School buildings completed in 1794 1805 disestablishments in Kentucky Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky History of Methodism in the United States Methodist schools in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Jessamine County, Kentucky Schools in Jessamine County, Kentucky School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Educational institutions established in 1790 Educational institutions disestablished in 1805 Christian schools in Kentucky Methodism in Kentucky