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BethlehemCT BethlehemGreenHD 2Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0
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History · Bethlehem Village

Bethlehem Village dates to 1787, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1820.

1787founded
3on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bethlehem Village’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bethlehem Village began

When was Bethlehem Village founded?

1787

Bethlehem Village dates its founding to 1787 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 932 in 18202020 census: 1,970239 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1811.

What stands out about Bethlehem Village’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1820 and 1920, then grew 6-fold.On the map since 18935 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1984. Watch Bethlehem Village change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1787: 239 years of Bethlehem Village.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bethlehem Village’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bethlehem Village’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Bethlehem Village, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001850190019502000932 in 1820Low: 536

Lost a third of its people between 1820 and 1920, then grew 6-fold.

18 censuses, 1820–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bethlehem Village’s Wikipedia page.

On the map

Bethlehem Village on the map, 1893 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bethlehem Village. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Bethlehem Village on the 1893 USGS mapBethlehem Village on the 1904 USGS mapBethlehem Village on the 1956 USGS mapBethlehem Village on the 1970 USGS mapBethlehem Village on the 1984 USGS map1893Waterbury sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bethlehem Village.

The story so far

Bethlehem Village, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bethlehem Village yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Bethlehem is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,385 at the 2020 census, down from 3,607 at the 2010 census. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The town center is a historic district and a census-designated place (CDP). The town's name has prompted thousands of visitors each December to mail their Christmas cards at the renowned local post office, situated at 34 East Street, in order to get a "Bethlehem" postmark. The post office also has nearly 100 Christmas-related stamps for customers to decorate their envelopes during the holiday season. Bethlehem is one of the two towns in Litchfield County served by the area code 203/are…

Bethlehem Village was established in 1787. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,021 to 1,970 (-3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Bethlehem Village, 1787 to 2010

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1787
    FoundingBethlehem Village is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Connecticut - Litchfield County - Bethlehem - ED …
  5. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1903In the archiveAnatole Hissar on the Bosphorus (NBY 444289)
  8. 21st century
  9. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 3,607
By decade

Bethlehem Village, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s2 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Connecticut - Litchfield County - Bethlehem - ED 3-318801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Connecticut -…Anatole Hissar on the Bosphorus (NBY 444289)1903Anatole Hissar on the Bosphorus (NBY 444289)
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
BarberJohnWarnerBethlehemCTDate?BarberJohnWarnerBethlehemCT
Today6 recent
Main St S2024Main St SLittle Free Library2024Little Free LibraryCALEB MARTIN HOUSE2016CALEB MARTIN HOUSEBethlehem CT lg2010Bethlehem CT lgConnecticut Town History Sign2007Connecticut Town History SignConnecticut Town History Sign2007Connecticut Town History Sign
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Connecticut - Litchfield County - Bethlehem - ED 3-3
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Connecticut - Litchfield County - Bethlehem - ED 3-3, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bethlehem Village’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 listings protect 69 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
69
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Bethlehem3 historic placesA−Morris1 historic placeB−

Questions about Bethlehem Village’s history

What year was Bethlehem Village founded?

In 1787, according to Wikidata. Bethlehem Village’s post office opened in 1811, and the census of 1820 counted 932 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (9), Wikidata (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.