Bethel’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 7 old photos of Bethel. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Bethel was founded as a Bible utopian colony in 1844 by Dr William Keil (1811–1877), a Prussian-born preacher. He and his followers, who were almost exclusively German immigrants to America, believed that the Book of Acts required that Christians hold all property and means of production in common and they organized their Colony accordingly. Traditionally male work was communally performed; however, traditionally female work was still individualized and performed in single family households.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Start Bethel’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bethel’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🗓️Date a photo7 archive items have no date+2 🔁Retake an old viewColony Tannery: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Bethel, decade by decade
2000
unknown7 items
3 historic places in Bethel
Bethel has 3 listings on the National Register, and they protect 20 historic buildings, because Bethel Historic District alone counts 18.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Colony Tannery and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (2) and the Library of Congress (7). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.