Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic African Methodist Episcopal

African Methodist Episcopal Church

The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the A.M.E. Church, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination based in the United States. It was founded by the Rev. Richard Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1816 from several black Methodist congregations in the...

 church located at 820 Clay Street in Parkersburg

Parkersburg, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 33,099 people, 14,467 households, and 8,767 families residing in the city. In 2006 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that Parkersburg's population had decreased 4.4% to 31,755. The population density was 2,800.5 people per square mile . There were 16,100 housing...

, Wood County, West Virginia

Wood County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 87,986 people, 36,275 households, and 24,884 families residing in the county. The population density was 240 people per square mile . There were 39,785 housing units at an average density of 108 per square mile...

. It was built in 1887, and is a two-story, stucco building in a vernacular interpretation of the Gothic Revival

Gothic Revival architecture

The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...

 style. It is one of three black churches in Parkersburg and is the oldest black church building in west central West Virginia. The church is located in a neighborhood of late 19th-century wood frame houses only a block from downtown.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

in 1998.