“House of God”: Bethel, Missouri’s Unique History
A collaborative post with Ilanavernovsky and Chuck Miller.
In 1844, a group of Germans arrived in Shelby County, Missouri, and established what would become the most successful communal colony in the state. The group’s leader-mystic and minister, Wilhelm Keil- named the colony Bethel, or “House of God.”
A decade later, the nearly 400 members of the Bethel Colony shared more than four thousand acres of land, on which they established numerous shops, mills, and other buildings, including an array of homes. Today, Bethel’s intriguing history is largely unknown outside of the small town. This can be attributed to a variety of reasons, including Bethel’s exclusion from Missouri’s German Heritage Corridor, which runs distantly south of the town, as well as its seclusion from large cities; Quincy, Illinois being the closest, at an hour’s distance. Perhaps the most prominent reason for the town’s decline however, lies within its own history.
By the 1850s, the Bethel colony was flourishing. Following the tenets of Christianity and practicing communism, as directed by Keil, the Germans engaged in a simple and hardworking lifestyle. Everyone was expected to work, and they shared profits equally. Though the colonists came from a variety of religious and economic backgrounds, all were bonded under this lifestyle and seemed to have lived contentedly at Bethel. They remained separate from the surrounding Shelby County, but faced little persecution from outsiders.
This seemingly safe and amiable environment at Bethel makes it all the more surprising that by 1853, Wilhelm Keil decided they needed to abandon what they had built. He initially sent a group of scouts to examine locations in Washington territory, but eventually decided to establish a new colony in Aurora, northwestern Oregon. In the spring of 1855, Keil and an initial party of colonists made the first trip westward. Over the next decade, hundreds more would also abandon Bethel to follow them, largely encouraged by Keil’s continued communication via letters. By 1870, it was estimated that only a third of Keil’s 600 colonists remained at Bethel.
In 1877, Wilhelm Keil died. Without his leadership, both colony locations fell apart, and Bethel was officially incorporated as a town in 1883. Little is recorded of the next two decades in Bethel, though the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the town’s population was 225 at the turn of the century. By 2020, it was only 135.
When Bethel was nominated as a historic district in 1969, there were 26 buildings from the town listed as historically significant. Though many of these structures have been lost to decay in the years since, including the original church and schoolhouse, some survive and are utilized to display Bethel’s history. In the buildings I was able to tour in Bethel, the interiors had been well preserved and decorated with antiques and furniture from the mid 19th century. It was like taking a step back in time.
Other pieces of Bethel’s material history are housed in the Shelby County Museum, in the nearby town of Shelbina. Kathleen Wilham, the museum’s director, shared numerous objects in the collection that are considered important to Bethel’s history and German culture, including instruments, books, and tools owned by the original colonists. Kathleen has been researching Bethel’s history for nearly fifty years. She expressed concern for the future of the town, due to its lack of funding and public interest. This seems to be a common point of concern for the community.
It is unknown how many people visit Bethel, Missouri, each year, but the town does welcome tourists by offering events and historical tours periodically. For example, the community hosts an outdoor event called the spring market each year, where there are booths selling antiques, crafts, and collectibles. According to the Bethel Colony website, all proceeds from this event benefit the ongoing maintenance of Bethel’s historic buildings.
