Religious Structures of Dryden
Bethel Grove Bible Church
1763 Slaterville Road, Ithaca
After meeting informally in local homes and with local ministers condiucting their services, in 1863, The Bethel Grove Sunday School was organized and started meeting in the nearby Bethel Grove district schoolhouse. This met their needs for several decades. In 1937 they moved to the new Bethel Grove Community Building. In 1952 they hired their first resident pastor and also bought the four acre Grover property with the house to become the parsonage. They soon started construction at the site and had the church sanctuary ready for it’s first worship service in 1956, and holding 150 worshipers. For many years, they ran a bus to both Cornell University and Ithaca College so the students could attend their services. Three major additions (1972, 1975, 1982) provided offices and meeting rooms. The Sylvan Hill Restaurant was purchased on one side (1994) and the Clemens property (1991) on the other provided additional parking, a youth center, Fellowship Hall, a new Manse, and meeting rooms. The original building that was the manse was sold and moved off the property. The old restaurant building also serves as a meeting place for the community, polling place for the Town of Dryden, and is the site of Red Cross blood drives.
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