This is a cemetery that I have searched for. I've gone through old maps to see if it could possibly be named. I resorted to combing through the death records of Caroline County, Virginia to see if there were any clues of its location. Unfortunately I didn't have success from the Caroline County Historical Society when I emailed them asking about the church. There was no response. I also emailed the police department asking about old cases to see if they had possibly been solved and what the outcome was but got no response even with a Foia request. It existed otherwise people wouldn't be buried there. So I created this cemetery here until I can get better luck in finding it. The people buried here are probably wanting their families to find them.

THE HISTORY OF BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH

FROM THE 13OTH ANNIVERSARY BOOK

When you search the Church records you would find that 4 miles west of Rappahannock Academy and 11 miles north of Bowling Green stood Bethlehem Baptist Church from 1865 until May 31, 1941. The Army had placed a sign on a tree to mark the spot. The sign read "Bethlehem Baptist Church, one of the first Colored Churches in America." Today, in the midst of the Fort A. P. Hill Base in Caroline County, Virginia, on a dusty dirt road, there are only near-buried foundations and the worn mound of church steps on the church grounds to say Bethlehem Baptist Church was here among the towering trees.

The government purchased the Church for $800.00 and ordered everyone out of Area 1 by May 31, l941. The Church was physically disassembled and the timbers, windows and other furnishings were packed.

The cemetery was moved by the government very hastily (in the middle of the night) to avoid the distress many members would have experienced had they watched the process. Mount Lawn Cemetery, in Woodford, Virginia was given by the government as a substitute cemetery for all the black churches that were displaced. Brother James "Eddie" Taylor was a member of the committee that oversaw the moving and placing of the graves and headstones. Some members personally moved the grave of members

of their family.