Photography by John Kirkland
Bethel Brick Methodist
Screven | Organized 1827
In 1827, Reverend Payton Wade conveyed two and three-quarter acres of land to seven trustees for the establishment of a Methodist Episcopal Church to be known as “Brick Church.” Built by enslaved craftsmen from the nearby Lebanon Forest Plantation, this remarkable sanctuary stands as both the oldest Methodist church and the oldest surviving church building in Screven County. For nearly two centuries, continuous services have been held here—an enduring testament to faith, skill, and endurance.
+ Continue readingMost churches of this early period were simple log or clapboard structures, but this one was built of handmade brick, giving rise to its name. Located amid the plantations of southern Screven County, Bethel Brick once had a larger Black membership than white—records from 1859 list 150 white members and 418 Black members. White congregants worshiped on Sunday mornings, while Black members met in the afternoons.
The first known use of the name “Bethel” appears in the 1866 Savannah Conference minutes. A small door behind the pulpit, opening directly to the outdoors, remains a mystery to this day. Perhaps once used by ministers or for processions, it adds to the quiet intrigue of the sanctuary.
Outside, towering moss-draped oaks surround the church and cemetery, where elaborate marble headstones stand beside weathered fieldstones—marking graves of both the wealthy and the humble. Civil War veterans and local settlers rest here, including a constable murdered in 1900.
The story of Bethel Brick is inseparable from the Maner and Wade families, prosperous planters whose history reflects both the promise and contradictions of post-Revolutionary Georgia. Reverend Peyton Lisby Wade—who once enslaved as many as 500 people—expanded his holdings to over 10,000 acres. Many of his descendants, along with those whose labor sustained the plantation, lie beneath the shade of Bethel’s ancient trees. Nearly 200 years later, Bethel Brick still stands as a monument to faith, endurance, and the complex history of Georgia’s early years.