Earliest Documented:     1890

Latest Documented:       1928

Description

Bethel School was active before 1890 when it discontinued, and the Smithville farm alliance used the (original) building. (Other white schools like Williston followed this pattern of in and out of service.)

Identification and location are based on Denton Journal info about Houston’s Branch School moved for Bethel School in 1927 and likely associated with Bethel Church (firmly identified).

DJ 1927 shows Bethel school was in/near Federalsburg; Houston’s Branch closed and building moved for use by Bethel in 1927.  Categorized as Colored School in 1928.

Location Precision:        1   Meter

Structure Exists:   Yes

Primary Source:  Denton Journal

Other Sources:  DJ 1890-03-08/page-3, 1927-08-13/page-5/, 1928-10-20/page-4  1875 Isler map, 1897 Saulsbury map, MD 6in ortho imagery, Google Street View

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