Bethel Community

Settlement of this area began in the 1850s. Among the pioneer families were those of Samuel K. Smith, Anderson Nowlin, William Crawford, and Sam Lusk. As family farms were established, a loosely organized rural community was formed. By the 1870s more people had moved to the area, including the F. M. Frie family. The Frie and Nowlin families both set aside land for school and church purposes. A one-room schoolhouse built on the Nowlin land about 1871 became known as Frie School. It also served as a Union church and community center. A church building was erected on Frie land in 1882. After Bethel Presbyterian Church was organized in 1883, the school and community took the Bethel name At its height in the early 20th century, Bethel community included about one hundred families. After it was bypassed by the railroad in 1875, Bethel began to decline in favor of Lewisville. The Bethel School consolidated with the Lewisville School system in 1940, and the area once encompassed by farms of the Bethel Community eventually became parts of several towns, including Flower Mound, Lewisville, Highland Village, and Copper Canyon. (1990)

Bethel Community is a historical marker in Flower Mound, Denton County, dedicated in 1990. It is one of 110 historical markers documented in Denton County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 174 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 33.0610, -97.0604 near Flower Mound. The nearest cataloged historic site is Old Hall Cemetery (historical marker), about 1.9 miles away. Others within a short drive include McCurley Cemetery, Chinn's Chapel Methodist Church, and Chinn's Chapel Cemetery.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5121000389. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.