Historic Bethel German Colony

 John found out about the little town of  Bethel, Mo. in an old AAA guidebook. The town is on the National Register of Historic Places and has kept some of its buildings from the mid 1800s.  As our daughter and family were going to be out of town over the Memorial holiday weekend, we were looking for a couple of day trips to take over that time. The town of Bethel is located 48 miles northwest of Hannibal, on the banks of the North River. In 1855 the town had 650 residents, and now in 2023 it has a population of 132. When we arrived we were hungry and were fortunate to find that the one restaurant in town was open and still serving lunch. That was the Fest Hall restaurant- after the Colony disbanded the building became a pharmacy and dry goods store. After lunch we inquired of local people in the restaurant whether any tours were given that day of the town. We were directed to another building across the street, which was the town's historical museum. We met a lady inside that place who said she was the head of the town's historical society. She informed us that the museum had some of the town's historic artifacts, but the back wall of the building had fallen and not much was available to be seen currently. There are only a couple of times during the year when tours are given and then some of the historic homes are open. We were on our own to tour the town, and, armed with several pamphlets she gave us, we  headed out on foot.

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Keil Home

Bethel Colony was formed by charismatic Wilhelm Keil in Phillipsburg,Pennsylvania in 1844. His followers were drawn from the German Methodist Church. They were joined by other converts to Keil's doctrine of Christian communal living, all of whom then sold their property (gave that money to Keil) and undertook the difficult journey to northern Missouri. Former members of the Harmony Society, who had joined them, were accustomed to communal living and among them were skilled craftsmen who were largely responsible for the rapid development of this community. As we noticed in touring the town, each block had about 1 house on each corner and, in the middle, once was located a barn.In that building large animals and equipment were kept- shared by the residents of each block. "Viel Hande Machen Bald Ein Ende" was the motto of the colony. Translated that meant "many hands made quick work". This community differed from other communal society's of that era in the fact that other settlers were able to live in the colony who were not into sharing what they had, and had more of a capitalistic way of thinking. They owned some of the stores which sprung up in the town. The Keil house (also called Elim) is pictured above. It was built in 1848, and was 50 feet long, 35 feet wide and 42 feet high. There is the equivalent of 100 large trees in the woodwork of the structure. The first floor is divided by 4 rooms. The second floor is a single room, the ballroom. This was no austere puritanical group of people. My understanding was they did enjoy music and dancing. Through the years they kept a band.

Bethel Bandstand

Wilhelm Keil, Doctor Keil,later refered to as Dr.Keil, grew herbs on the third floor of his home. Currently his home is in the hands of private owners- as are several other of the older homes in town. There are still many homes in Bethel badly in need of repair. Funds are needed!

Vandiver Haus

The house pictured above is the oldest house in Bethel, and originally built as a fur trading post. More than 100 colonists stayed here during their first winter.

Bair House

Home of Rueben and Mary Bair,built in 1845. It contains many of the colony furniture. Behind this house is the colony bake oven, one of several ovens where the women set up a schedule to bake the community's bread. The oven, pictured below, has been reconstructed.

 

Colony School House

The school house was built in 1876, one year before the colony was disbanded. Last class taught here was in 1913. Over the years Bethel Colony became successful and thriving. But Dr.Keil was restless and in 1855 put together a wagon train of about 75 people and headed west to the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The community he started there ( named Aurora), as well as Bethel, were held to their purpose by Dr.Keil for 20 years- until his death in 1877. Eventually many more residents of Bethel settled in Aurora. In 1879 Bethel Colony dissolved after having broke its bonds with Aurora- its residents then numbered about 200.  Bethel was incorporated as a town in 1883. Fascinating town and history, but check first as to the times of their festivals in the spring and fall if you wish to visit!