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History · Bethlehem Township

59% of Bethlehem Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1955 on.

0on the National Register
59%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

Where Bethlehem Township’s name came from

How did Bethlehem Township get its name?

Bethlehem Township was named for an early settler's native hometown of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Bethlehem Township’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Bethlehem Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Bethlehem Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bethlehem Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Bethlehem Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bethlehem Township.

Read it all →

Bethlehem Township was organized in 1836. It was named for an early settler's native hometown of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bethlehem Township, 1834 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1834Post officeThe Metea post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Post officeThe Metea post office closes
  5. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Bethlehem Township on the map, 1955 to 1987

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

Bethlehem Township on the 1955 USGS mapBethlehem Township on the 1972 USGS mapBethlehem Township on the 1987 USGS map1955Logansport sheet · 1:24,000

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Bethlehem Township

Nobody well known was born in Bethlehem Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
G
Greg KinnearAmerican actor · b. 1963
Lola LaneAmerican actress · b. 1906
Ann ChristyAmerican actress · b. 1905
Edna GoodrichAmerican actress · b. 1883
C
Clara Ingram JudsonAmerican children's writer, biographies · b. 1879
Aaron HeilmanBaseball player · b. 1978
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Another post office, Metea, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
MeteaMount Pleasant
Gone or out of use
Williamson Airportairport

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Adams TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHarrison TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townClay Township1 historic placeC+Liberty TownshipIts storyB−Wayne TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bethlehem Township’s history

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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.