Object description

The Bethlehem Cemetery is a historic cemetery in rural Washington County, Arkansas, United States. It is located about 4 miles south of Canehill, near the junction of Arkansas Highway 45 and County Road 442. With its first documented burial in 1832, it is one of the oldest cemeteries in the county, and it is the only surviving remnant of the small frontier community of Bethlehem, which was established in 1827. The cemetery contains the remains of some of the area's earliest settlers, including the wife of preacher John Carnahan, who is believed to be the first person buried in the cemetery.