Historedia
AmericasEvent

Founding of Bethesda Orphanage

When
1740
Where
Bethesda Orphanage site
Episodes
1

George Whitefield founded the Bethesda Orphanage in 1740 on a 500-acre land grant near Savannah, Georgia. Construction began on March 25, 1740, following his recognition of the need for such an institution during his 1738 visit to the colony.

Episodes

  1. March 25, 1740 · Bethesda Orphanage siteConstruction Begins

    Construction on the orphanage buildings commenced on March 25, 1740, on a 500-acre land grant near Savannah.

Background and detail

Background. After arriving in Georgia in 1738, Whitefield visited the Lutheran-founded Ebenezer institution and recognized the need to establish an orphanage. He later returned to England in 1739 to raise funds and receive priest's orders before resuming his work in the colonies.

Founding and Construction. Whitefield founded the orphanage in 1740 on a 500-acre land grant about 10 miles south of Savannah. Construction began on March 25, 1740. He named the property Bethesda, meaning "House of Mercy," hoping many acts of mercy would take place there.

People involved

Sources

  1. Bethesda Academy Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-14
  2. George Whitefield Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-28

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.