Volunteers working on the First Annual Old Bethel Country Fair coming May 21, will have an extra reason to strive for funds to restore the old building. The site of an early Quaker meeting house, and a Baptist congregation that dates to 1808 has just been added to the Virginia Register of Historic Places.

     The present brick building was constructed between 1833 and 36, and features a slave gallery above the congregational seating. The building now belongs to Clarke County, administered through a board of trustees, which sponsors a memorial service the last Sunday in August, featuring both religious and historical elements.

     The board has undertaken an extensive restoration of the old building, which needed structural and cosmetic repairs. To help raise the funds for the work, which is already underway, everyone is invited to participate in a silent auction at the country fair at the church on May 21, beginning at 12:30 p.m. Donations are needed for the country kitchen, library, garden and toybox categories, as well as "collectibles" and services to be auctioned off. All donations are tax deductible.

     Activities will include hayrides, and country music and refreshments will be available on the grounds.

     The Virginia Historic Landmarks Board, in Richmond, has added Bethel Memorial Church in Clarke County to the Virginia Landmarks Register.

     Situated off one of the earliest roads in Clarke County, Rt. 622, Bethel Memorial Church stands on the approximate location of a mid-18-century Quaker Meeting House. It is believed that the Quakers had a log meeting house on this site. The log structure was occupied by a Baptist congregation beginning in 1808. The present building was erected between 1833 and 1836 and stand today with few alterations to the rectangular brick building.

     Bethel serves as a tangible and accessible reminder of life in 19th-century Clarke County. The remarkably intact minute books exist as a testament to the importance of the church in the community from 1808 to 1930.

     According to H. Bryan Mitchell, Director of the Virginia Historic Landmarks Division, a property or district must be associated with important events, developments, persons or possess outstanding architectural or archaeological significance to be eligible for listing on the register.

     "Each structure or district is carefully evaluated and analyzed before we make a formal nomination," he said. Each building is photographed and detailed historical and architectural analyses are prepared for the report.

     All properties enrolled in the Virginia Landmarks Register are nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, maintained by the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Listing on the state and national registers places no legal restrictions on an owner's use of the property, nor does it imply any architectural controls. Registration such as historic district zoning can only be imposed by local governing bodies.

     Mitchell also stressed that registered properties do not have to be accessible to the public. "The majority of landmarks are privately owned and have never been open to the public. Registration is mainly an official and honorific recognition that a district is an historic and cultural resource for the state and the nation and should be preserved," Mitchell said. "Listing on the Virginia Landmarks Register calls public attention to Virginia's extraordinary wealth of historic buildings and sites, and is designed to encourage local preservation efforts."