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History · Bethany

Bethany’s post office opened in 1827, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

6 places in town are on the National Register, among them 2 National Historic Landmarks and a historic district with 111 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1880.

1827first post office
6on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bethany’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bethany began

When was Bethany founded?

1827

The Bethany post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 335 in 18802020 census: 781199 years
Founding year: the first Bethany post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bethany’s past

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

A historic districtThe Bethany Historic District takes in 111 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A National Historic Landmark6 places on the National Register, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks.On the map since 19026 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1997. Watch Bethany change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

6 listings protect 117 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 2 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
2
Old Main, Bethany College
historic buildings protected
117
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Old Main, Bethany College
Pendleton HeightsOld Bethany ChurchDelta Tau Delta Founders HouseBethany Historic DistrictOld Main, Bethany College★Alexander Campbell Mansion, built 1793★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Gothic1
Greek Revival1
Gothic Revival1
Tudor Revival1
Second Empire1
Queen Anne1
★ Landmark
Old Main, Bethany CollegeBuilding
★ Landmark
Alexander Campbell MansionBuilt 1793
Pendleton HeightsGothic
Old Bethany ChurchBuilding
Delta Tau Delta Founders HouseGreek Revival
Bethany Historic DistrictGothic Revival

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

Help out

Start Bethany’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bethany’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 viewView of Bethany College and Bethany, W.…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Bethany came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bethany.

Read it all →

Scotch-Irish minister Alexander Campbell established a post office in the area of his homestead around 1827. In 1840, he founded Bethany College, and then platted the town in 1847. The town was most likely named after the biblical town of Bethany, where Jesus was said to have raised Lazarus of Bethany from the dead. The town was chartered in 1853.

The Bethany Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Located within the district are the separately listed Alexander Campbell Mansion, Delta Tau Delta Founders House, Old Bethany Church, Old Main, and Pendleton Heights.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bethany, 1793 to 1994

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1793BuiltAlexander Campbell Mansion is built
  3. 19th century
  4. 1827Post officeThe Bethany post office opens
  5. 1862Born hereCharles Reynolds Brown is born here
  6. 1883Born hereGene Curtis is born here
  7. 1895Born hereIra Rodgers is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1914In the archiveView of Bethany College and Bethany, W. Va
  11. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 1,360
  12. 1990LandmarkOld Main, Bethany College named a National Historic Landmark
  13. 1994LandmarkAlexander Campbell Mansion named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Bethany, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s2 items
View of Bethany College and Bethany, W. Va1914View of Bethany College and Bethany, W. VaBethany College, May 6, 19141914Bethany College, May 6, 1914
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
Today16 recent
Bethany, West Virginia2012Bethany, West VirginiaBethany, West Virginia2012Bethany, West VirginiaBethany, West Virginia2012Bethany, West VirginiaBethany, West Virginia2012Bethany, West VirginiaBethany, West Virginia2012Bethany, West VirginiaBethany, West Virginia2012Bethany, West VirginiaBethany, West Virginia2012Bethany, West VirginiaBethany, West Virginia2012Bethany, West VirginiaBethany, West Virginia2012Bethany, West VirginiaBethany, West Virginia2012Bethany, West VirginiaCollege Plaque P62000992011College Plaque P6200099College Plaque P6200092011College Plaque P620009Bethany Plaque P62000972011Bethany Plaque P6200097Bethany Plaque P62000942011Bethany Plaque P6200094Brush Run2008Brush RunWVMap-doton-Bethany2004WVMap-doton-Bethany
On the map

Bethany on the map, 1902 to 1997

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

Bethany on the 1902 USGS mapBethany on the 1935 USGS mapBethany on the 1942 USGS mapBethany on the 1959 USGS mapBethany on the 1981 USGS mapBethany on the 1997 USGS map1902Wheeling 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 Bethany.

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.

View of Bethany College and Bethany, W. Va
Retake this viewView of Bethany College and Bethany, W. Va, 1914

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Bethany, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,360

Peaked at 1,360 in 1970; 781 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Bethany

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

See all →
G
Gene CurtisAmerican baseball player · b. 1883
Charles Reynolds BrownAmerican writer · b. 1862
Ira RodgersAmerican athlete and coach · b. 1895
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Bethany’s post office has been open since 1827.

Gone or out of use
Bethany Primary Schoolschool

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

Questions about Bethany’s history

What year was Bethany founded?

The Bethany post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Bethany?

6 listings, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks: 5 buildings, among them the Old Main, Bethany College (a National Historic Landmark since 1990), and 1 historic district, the Bethany Historic District, with 111 contributing buildings. 117 historic buildings in all.

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 (16), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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.