BETHLEHEM LUTHERAN CHURCH CEMETERY, Mason City, Columbia County, Florida

Bethlehem Lutheran Church Cemetery is located 12 miles south of Lake City, FL on the east side of US 441. It is near the small community of Mason City in Columbia County. From I-75, take the Ellisville exit (80) and go 2 miles north. The church and cemetery are visible from the road. During the early 1850’s many of the family names found in this cemetery came to the area to establish the first Lutheran Church in Florida. Among these were the Haltiwanger, Witt, Feagle, Koon, Legrone, Shealy, Bedenbaugh, and Snelgrove families that migrated from South Carolina. The church was officially established in 1859 and in 1959 1 100th anniversary booklet was published containing church history information and personal data on these families.