Bethany Church of Christ
Bethany, West Virginia

In May, 1829 Thomas, Alexander and the rest of the Campbell family left the Wellsburg church to form the Buffalo Church of Christ. The original building was built then on the spot of the present building. This building shown on this page was built in 1852, as the Historical marker says, according to the plans set out by Alexander Campbell himself. This old building sits on the eastern side of the village of Bethany heading toward the little valley where the mansion and cemetery is located. It is built on the foundations of the original building. Your webmaster visited Bethany in the mid 1990's, nearly 150 years after this building was built. So many things about Bethany are impressive to the visitor of this beautiful old building. Just think of it, being on the property where the building sits, where men preached in addition to Alexander Campbell is awe inspiring. Pearing into the windows one could imagine seeing men in the pulpit such as  Walter Scott, or W.K. Pendleton (J.T. Barclay  or Tolbert Fanning, or J.W. McGarvey, or John T. Johnson, and the list goes on and on. Thomas Campbell never preached in this building or ever saw it though he worshipped here two years before his death. In 1846 upon returning from a preaching trip to Ohio, his sight left him rather quickly. His last sermon, completely blind, took place in June, 1851. He died January 4,1854 less than a month from his 91st birthday. He was a long way from his County Down, Ireland home when he went to be with the Lord.

Some years ago it was thought that this building should be removed in view of "progress" much to the great disappointment of Alexander Campbell's youngest daughter Decima. She refused to allow the building to be torn down. Today it is used for special occasions. Churches will come and use it for special services.