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A−History
History · Bethel Township

Bethel Township dates to 1683, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #352 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Most of Bethel Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Its Register listing is the Booth Farm. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1790.

1683founded
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Bethel Township began

When was Bethel Township founded?

1683

Bethel Township dates its founding to 1683 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 222 in 17902020 census: 9,574343 years

How historic is Bethel Township?

A−

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bethel Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bethel Township is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #352 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bethel Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1683, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19407.0% of homes (±6.8) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 4 historic buildings, 4.1 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 66%

Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bethel Township’s 4.1 sits near the middle of its state (65% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1683.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.8 points).

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 Township’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bethel Township, and 12 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Older than the countryEstablished in 1683, 93 years before the Declaration of Independence.On the map since 18966 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1993. Watch Bethel Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Booth Corner
1854–1901
Chelsea
1858–1901
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Booths CornerBrookcroftCalais WoodsCavagradoChelseaClayton MeadowsGarnet OaksGoodley ManorHiddencreekScots GlenThe Hills at BethelZebleys Corner
1cemetery inside Bethel Township
Siloam Methodist

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

Help out

Start Bethel Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Bethel Township, 1683 to 1913

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1683
    FoundingBethel Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1826Born hereThomas J. Clayton is born here
  5. 1833Born herePowell Clayton is born here
  6. 1840Born hereW. H. H. Clayton is born here
  7. 1854Post officeThe Booth Corner post office opens
  8. 1858Post officeThe Chelsea post office opens
  9. 1875In the archiveCombination atlas map of Delaware County, Pennsylvania
  10. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Delaware County - Bethel - ED 23-6
  11. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 20th century
  13. 1901Post officeThe Booth Corner post office closes
  14. 1901Post officeThe Chelsea post office closes
  15. 1913In the archiveBethel Township Map
The story

How Bethel Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bethel Township.

Read it all →

Bethel Township was the smallest of all the original townships of Chester County. The township is mentioned as early as 1683, and means "House of God". In 1683, Edward Beazer and Edward Brown had 500 acres surveyed to them in the northeasterly end of the township. On this tract, Bethel hamlet, afterwards known as Corner Catch (Ketch), is the location of the current village of Chelsea. In 1686, the road now known as Bethel Road was laid out from Bethel to Chichester (Marcus Hook).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Bethel Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1910s4 items
Combination atlas map of Delaware County, Pennsylvania1875Combination atlas map of Delaware County, PennsylvaniaMapCombination atlas map of Delaware County, Pennsylvania1875Combination atlas map of Delaware County, PennsylvaniaMap1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Delaware County - Bethel - ED 23-618801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania …Bethel Township Map1913Bethel Township MapMap
1920s–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
Today10 recent
Bethel Township, Delaware County, PA municipal building (3), Nov. 20252025Bethel Township, Delaware County, PA municipal buildi…Bethel Township, Delaware County, PA municipal building (2), Nov. 20252025Bethel Township, Delaware County, PA municipal buildi…Bethel Township, Delaware County, PA municipal building (1), Nov. 20252025Bethel Township, Delaware County, PA municipal buildi…Francis Harvey Green School Sign2018Francis Harvey Green School SignSiloam United Methodist Church in Bethel Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania2017Siloam United Methodist Church in Bethel Township, De…Sign in Chelsea, Pennsylvania2017Sign in Chelsea, PennsylvaniaBethel Springs Elementary School in Bethel Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania2017Bethel Springs Elementary School in Bethel Township, …Bethel School No. 22017Bethel School No. 2Bethel Township, PA, USA - panoramio (1)2010Bethel Township, PA, USA - panoramio (1)Bethel, Delaware County, Pennsylvania2007Bethel, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
On the map

Bethel Township on the map, 1896 to 1993

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

Bethel Township on the 1896 USGS mapBethel Township on the 1941 USGS mapBethel Township on the 1953 USGS mapBethel Township on the 1967 USGS mapBethel Township on the 1986 USGS mapBethel Township on the 1993 USGS map1896Chester 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 Township.

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 - Pennsylvania - Delaware County - Bethel - ED 23-6
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Delaware County - Bethel - ED 23-6, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Bethel Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
2003
Booth Farm
Booth Farm
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Early Republic1
Federal1
Booth FarmEarly Republic

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

People over time

Bethel Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000180018501900195020009,574

Grew from 222 people in 1790 to 9,574 in 2020, more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Bethel Township

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

See all →
Powell ClaytonAmerican politician · b. 1833
W. H. H. ClaytonAmerican lawyer · b. 1840
Thomas J. ClaytonAmerican lawyer and Judge · b. 1826
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Upper Chichester Township1 historic placeB−Concord Township11 historic placesBAston TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about Bethel Township’s history

What year was Bethel Township founded?

In 1683, according to Wikidata. Bethel Township’s post office opened in 1854, and the first U.S. census counted 222 people here in 1790.

How does Bethel Township rank for history?

Bethel Township is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #352 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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 Township?

One place: the Booth Farm (listed 2003).

How old are the homes in Bethel Township?

7% of Bethel Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1995.

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 (14), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.