When Bethesda.Baptist Church was organized in 1785, it was known as Whatley's Mill Church and was in Wilkes County before it was added to Greene in 1802. When the present building was erected in 1818, the name was changed to Bethesda. Jesse Mercer was pastor for a number of years and here he ordained Adiel Sherwood as minister of the Gospel. This splenid brick structure indicates that this section was populus and wealthy. In the early days of the church, worshipers, fearful of attack by Indians, carried their guns to service.