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A+History
History · Bethel

Bethel dates to 1774, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #19 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

9 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 51 buildings between them. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1800.

1774founded
9on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
11famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bethel’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bethel began

When was Bethel founded?

1774

Bethel dates its founding to 1774 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1800.

First census: 616 in 18002020 census: 2,504252 years

How historic is Bethel?

A+

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1815.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bethel’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bethel is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #19 of 143 in Maine. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bethel’s overall grade.
Founding era1774, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194019.5% of homes (±7.5) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register9 listings, 59 historic buildings, 225 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 96%
NewerOlder
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 87%

Maine towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Maine town has 15.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bethel’s 225 sits above most of its state (95% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 59 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.5 points). Two sources give 1774.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Bethel’s past

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

Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bethel, and 6 old place names are still on the map.A historic districtThe Broad Street Historic District takes in 50 historic buildings.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1924, drew every building in Bethel.Landmarks on the Register9 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Bethel’s post office has been open since 1815. Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bethel
1815–today
East Bethel
1824–1858
North Bethel
1831–1855
West Bethel
1837–today
East Bethel
1862–1907
North Bethel
1862–1919
South Bethel
1875–1900
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East BethelMayvilleMiddle IntervaleNorth BethelNorthwest BethelWest Bethel
Gone or out of use
Flat Schoolschool
11cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bethel
BartlettBethel RiversideBirds HillChandler HillFlatMiddle IntervaleMount WillSkillingstonSouth BethelWest BethelWoodland

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

On the National Register

9 listings protect 59 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
9
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
59
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Dr. Moses Mason House
Dr. Moses Mason HouseGehring ClinicBroad Street Historic DistrictSamuel D. Philbrook House, built 1878John M. Philbrook HouseCole BlockMiddle Intervale Meeting House and CommonHall HouseLower Meeting House and East Bethel Cemetery
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne4
Federal2
Italianate2
Greek Revival2
Gothic Revival1
Transitional Greek Revival-Italianate1
Dr. Moses Mason HouseFederal
Gehring ClinicQueen Anne
Broad Street Historic DistrictItalianate
Samuel D. Philbrook HouseItalianate · Built 1878
John M. Philbrook HouseQueen Anne
Cole BlockQueen Anne
Middle Intervale Meeting House and CommonGreek Revival
Hall HouseLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements
All 9 listings
Lower Meeting House and East Bethel CemeteryBuilding · listed 2013

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

Every building

Bethel, building by building, 1894–1924

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Bethel fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Bethel came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bethel.

Read it all →

An Abenaki Indian village was once located on the north side of the Androscoggin River, but had been abandoned before its subsequent English settlement. In 1769, the township was granted as Sudbury-Canada by the Massachusetts General Court to Josiah Richardson of Sudbury, Massachusetts and others (or their heirs) for services at the Battle of Quebec in 1690. It was first settled in 1774 when Nathaniel Segar of Newton, Massachusetts started clearing the land.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Bethel, 1879–1891

Passages that mention Bethel, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Be it further enacted, by the autliorit}- aforesaid, that the said town of Bethel lie, and the same is hereby divided into two distinct Parishes, to be designated "The East Parish and "West Parish," and the following shall be the dividing line between said Parishes, viz : Beginning at the south lin…
History of Bethel, formerly Sudbury, Canada, Oxford County, Maine, 1768-18901891 · page 66Read the page →
Read the text

Be it further enacted, by the autliorit}- aforesaid, that the said town of Bethel lie, and the same is hereby divided into two distinct Parishes, to be designated "The East Parish and "West Parish," and the following shall be the dividing line between said Parishes, viz : Beginning at the south line of the town at a tree marked sixteen seventeen, standing on the line between the sixteenth and seventeenth ranges, to the north line of the town, and all the lands in said town with the inhabitants thereon, east of said dividing line, be and

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
act was passed February 14, 1833, to take effect the April following, for the protection of the bridge, providing a fine of three dollars for crossing it faster than a walk. March 23, 1839, an act was passed increasing the rates of toll, and making the rates at Bethel, Rumford and Jay, uniform. Tli…
History of Rumford, Oxford County, Maine, from its first settlement in 1779, to the present time1890 · page 224Read the page →
Read the text

act was passed February 14, 1833, to take effect the April following, for the protection of the bridge, providing a fine of three dollars for crossing it faster than a walk. March 23, 1839, an act was passed increasing the rates of toll, and making the rates at Bethel, Rumford and Jay, uniform. Tlie bridge at Jay was built by the "Oxford Bridge Association" This constitutes all the legislation with regard to the Rumford bridge, nor was this last necessary, for January 26, 1839, this bridge, the one at Bethel and several others

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
ment that has been laid aside for years. It is old style — out of fashion — ill fitting, and can never be worn as satisfactorily as one made especially for the present time. It affords me great pleasure to meet so many of the sons and daughters of Bethel on this deeply interesting and very pleasant…
History of Bethel, formerly Sudbury, Canada, Oxford County, Maine, 1768-18901891 · page 318Read the page →
Read the text

ment that has been laid aside for years. It is old style — out of fashion — ill fitting, and can never be worn as satisfactorily as one made especially for the present time. It affords me great pleasure to meet so many of the sons and daughters of Bethel on this deeply interesting and very pleasant occasion. I congratulate you in the prosperity that has marked all the interests of the good town of Bethel since the first settlement within her borders. jNIany pleasant memories of Bethel rise before me whenever I vi-it 3'our beautiful

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
1790 1800 Albany (Oxford) * settled 1784, incorporated 1803, 69 Andover (E. Andover), settled 1780, incorporated 1804, 22 175 Bethel and Hanover (Sudbury Canada), settled 1773, incorporated 1796, 100 616 Brownfield (Brownsfield), settled 1765, incorporated 1800, 250 287 Buckfield (Buck-town or No. …
The history of Waterford, Oxford County, Maine, comprising Historical address, by Henry P. Warren1879 · page 68Read the page →
Read the text

1790 1800 Albany (Oxford) * settled 1784, incorporated 1803, 69 Andover (E. Andover), settled 1780, incorporated 1804, 22 175 Bethel and Hanover (Sudbury Canada), settled 1773, incorporated 1796, 100 616 Brownfield (Brownsfield), settled 1765, incorporated 1800, 250 287 Buckfield (Buck-town or No. 5) , settled 1776, incor. 1793, 453 1002 Dixfield,* settled 1795, incorporated 1803, 137

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Bethel, 1774 to 1992

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1774
    FoundingBethel is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1815Post officeThe Bethel post office opens
  5. 1823Born hereLa Fayette Grover is born here
  6. 1824Post officeThe East Bethel post office opens
  7. 1831Post officeThe North Bethel post office opens
  8. 1855Post officeThe North Bethel post office closes
  9. 1858Post officeThe East Bethel post office closes
  10. 1860In the archiveKimball brothers, carriage builders, Oxford County, Maine, c. 1860
  11. 1874In the archive"The Coming Woman" float in Bethel, Maine 1874
  12. 1875Born hereMarshall Stedman is born here
  13. 1878BuiltSamuel D. Philbrook House is built
  14. 20th century
  15. 1909In the archiveFerry at West
  16. 1910In the archiveChurch Street
  17. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  18. 1973In the archiveRESIDENTIAL STREET NEAR GOULD ACADEMY IN BETHEL. BETHEL, ON THE ANDROSCOGGIN RIVER, IS ON…
  19. 1986Born hereSimon Dumont is born here
  20. 1992Born hereTroy Murphy is born here
By decade

Bethel, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1900s6 items
Kimball brothers, carriage builders, Oxford County, Maine, c. 1860c. 1860Kimball brothers, carriage builders, Oxford County, M…Main Street, Bethel, Mec. 1869Main Street, Bethel, MeMain Street, Bethel, Mec. 1869Main Street, Bethel, Me"The Coming Woman" float in Bethel, Maine 18741874"The Coming Woman" float in Bethel, Maine 1874Ferry at West1909Ferry at WestPostcardThe Prospect Hotel1909The Prospect HotelPostcard
1910s2 items
Church Streetc. 1910Church StreetPostcardMain & Church Sts1913Main & Church StsPostcard
1920s–1960snothing 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
1970s1 item
RESIDENTIAL STREET NEAR GOULD ACADEMY IN BETHEL. BETHEL, ON THE ANDROSCOGGIN RIVER, IS ONE OF WESTERN MAINE'S OLDEST TO…1973RESIDENTIAL STREET NEAR GOULD ACADEMY IN BETHEL. BETH…
1980s–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
Today30 recent
Bethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel, Maine2012Bethel, MaineBethel Fire Bell 52012Bethel Fire Bell 5SnowWomanBethelMaine2008SnowWomanBethelMaineOlympiaSnowWomanBethelMaine2008OlympiaSnowWomanBethelMaineMemorial to American Civil War veterans in2004Memorial to American Civil War veterans in
On the map

Bethel on the map, 1914 to 1995

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

Bethel on the 1914 USGS mapBethel on the 1940 USGS mapBethel on the 1953 USGS mapBethel on the 1970 USGS mapBethel on the 1995 USGS map1914Bethel 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 Bethel.

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.

Kimball brothers, carriage builders, Oxford County, Maine, c. 1860
Retake this viewKimball brothers, carriage builders, Oxford County, Maine, c. 1860, c. 1860

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Bethel, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018001850190019502000Peak: 2,607

Between 616 and 2,607 people in every census since 1800.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

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

Famous people

11 famous people were born in Bethel

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
La Fayette GroverAmerican politician · b. 1823
Simon DumontAmerican freestyle skier · b. 1986
Marshall StedmanAmerican actor · b. 1875
Troy MurphyAmerican freestyle skier · b. 1992
L
Luther C. CarterAmerican politician · b. 1805
T
Timothy J. CarterAmerican politician · b. 1800
Help out

Finish Bethel’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewKimball brothers, carriage builders, Ox…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

HanoverIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRumford11 historic placesA+Newry3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGreenwood3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWoodstock2 historic placesA−

Questions about Bethel’s history

What year was Bethel founded?

In 1774, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bethel’s post office opened in 1815, and the census of 1800 counted 616 people here.

How does Bethel rank for history?

Bethel is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #19 of 143 in Maine. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Bethel?

9 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Dr. Moses Mason House (listed 1972, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Broad Street Historic District and the Middle Intervale Meeting House and Common, with 51 contributing buildings. 59 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Bethel?

20% of Bethel’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1986.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (39), Wikidata (8), the National Register of Historic Places (9), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.