Bethel A.M.E. Church

In 1867, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church purchased the “Stray Pen Lots”, lots number 54 and 55 on Henry Clay Street for $150. The first church on the site was built in 1868, with the present, Gothic-influenced building reconstructed in 1916, reusing bricks from the first church.  It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

The “Stray Pen” was a large enclosure where stray pigs, horses, cattle, and mules were held next to the old jail on Fifth Street, between Henry Clay and Bradshaw Streets.