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History · Mount Bethel

Mount Bethel’s post office opened in 1828, and 56% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1891 on.

1828first post office
0on the National Register
56%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mount Bethel’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mount Bethel began

When was Mount Bethel founded?

1828

The Mount Bethel post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name.

198 years
Founding year: the first Mount Bethel post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Mount Bethel’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18915 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1992. Watch Mount Bethel change.Old housesHalf of Mount Bethel’s homes were built before 1938.Deep rootsA post office since 1828: 198 years of Mount Bethel.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mount Bethel’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mount Bethel’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 viewMount Bethel PA Presby PHS382: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Mount Bethel on the map, 1891 to 1992

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

Mount Bethel on the 1891 USGS mapMount Bethel on the 1936 USGS mapMount Bethel on the 1943 USGS mapMount Bethel on the 1984 USGS mapMount Bethel on the 1992 USGS map1891Delaware Water Gap 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 Mount Bethel.

The story so far

Mount Bethel, in brief

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

Mount Bethel is an unincorporated community in Upper Mount Bethel Township in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. as of the 2020 census. Mount Bethel is located along Pennsylvania Route 611, north of the intersection with Pennsylvania Route 512.

Its first post office opened in 1828.

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

Timeline

Mount Bethel, 1826 to 1923

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1826Born hereDavid A. Depue is born here
  3. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1923In the archiveMount Bethel PA Presby PHS382
By decade

Mount Bethel, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
Mount Bethel PA Presby PHS3821923Mount Bethel PA Presby PHS382
1930s–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
Today1 recent
PA 611 nb approaching PA 512, Nov. 20222022PA 611 nb approaching PA 512, Nov. 2022
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.

Mount Bethel PA Presby PHS382
Retake this viewMount Bethel PA Presby PHS382, 1923

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

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Upper Mount Bethel TownshipIts storyB−Portland1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Mount Bethel’s history

What year was Mount Bethel founded?

The Mount Bethel post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.