Bethlehem Cemetery

Before the stone church, the congregation met in the sod house of Fredrick G. Bentz and his wife, parents of eight, east of Fairfax. On Sundays the furniture went outside to make room; Mrs. Bentz led the singing, and the men read sermons from a book unless a traveling preacher came through. An epidemic took at least five children from one family, and with no cemetery yet the dead were buried on a neighbor's farm, children in white boxes and adults in black. John and Eva Hoffman's gift of land in 1897 gave the congregation its burying ground.

What the plaque says

Bethlehem German Congregational Church 1893 Die Bethlehem Duetsche Congregational Gerininde Later Bethlehem German Congregational or Stone Church. This was the first deed registered in organized Gregory County. Church grounds were donated by John Hoffman April 8, 1897. This pioneer church was founded by European Immigrants who landed at Ellis Island, NY, then migrated by railway to Dakota Territory in the 1870's--1880's. Worship services were held first in a sod home--increased numbers required a church which was built of native stone from a quarry 3 miles NE of here. Mortar made of soil, chopped straw and water was used to bind the stones in the 2 feet thick walls. Roof, floor, doors and windows were constructed of wood. Dedication was in the fall of 1897 and the first wedding, B. J. Gall and Lena Bentz, was on November 27, 1897, performed by Reverend Gustav Baumen. Stone Church united with Hope Congregational of Fairfax in 1924 and was sold and dismantled in 1941. The majority of the graves have no markers although more than 60 burials are recorded. Erected in 1991 by the Fairfax, Bonesteel, Ft. Randall Historical Society, the South Dakota State Historical Society and the South Dakota Department of Transportation

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Randall — 9.2 mi
  The ruined stone chapel of an 1856 Missouri River post below Fort Randall Dam, where Sitting Bull and his band were held as prisoners for two years.

More markers nearby

• Battle of Bonesteel — 8.2 mi
• Fort Randall Chapel — 13 mi
• Fort Randall Map — 13 mi
• Commanding Officers Quarters — 13 mi