Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #46 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1950.
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bethlehem is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #46 of 61 in West Virginia. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
West Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical West Virginia town has 29.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bethlehem’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: our sources. 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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bethlehem’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bethlehem. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bethlehem.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bethlehem yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Bethlehem is a village in Ohio County, West Virginia, United States. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,605 at the 2020 census.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,499 to 2,605 (+4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Between 1,146 and 2,694 people in every census since 1950.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bethlehem’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Bethlehem itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Bethlehem is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #46 of 61 in West Virginia. 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.
12% of Bethlehem’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1961.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
2017
2004
