Welcome to Bethel ...
Bethel is located in Oxford County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Bethel, you might consider that their post office opened in 1815.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Bethel has a population of 2,731 people<2> (see below for details).
Bethel is 720 feet [219 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Bethel lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Bethel is within the (207) area code.
The ZIP code for Bethel: 04217<4>
Websites for Bethel ...
Chamber of Commerce: www.bethelmaine.com/
Although we don't have any websites that are specific to Bethel, the following might be of interest:
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Bethel had an population of 2,731 people. This is an increase of 4.76% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 13.27% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Bethel had a population of 2,607 people. This makes Bethel the county's 7th most populous community.
The population of Bethel represents 0.2% of the population of Maine (which has 1,328,361 people), making it the state's 136th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 2,607 people, the population of Bethel increased 8.13% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 2,411 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Bethel.
Communities Also Named Bethel ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 143 communities that are also named Bethel - they are located in Alabama (13), Alaska, Arkansas (7), California, Connecticut (2), Delaware (2), Florida (2), Georgia (10), Illinois (4), Indiana (2), Iowa, Kansas (3), Kentucky (3), Louisiana (2), Manitoba, Maryland (5), Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi (5), Missouri, New Brunswick, New Jersey, New Mexico (2), New York (2), North Carolina (9), Ohio (5), Oklahoma (2), Ontario (4), Oregon (2), Pennsylvania (8), Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Rhode Island, South Carolina (3), Tennessee (14), Texas (9), Vermont, Virginia (7), Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bethel.
Communities near Bethel ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Bethel.
- Berlin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Berlin is located in Coos County (NH)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,813 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Berlin <5>
- Rumford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rumford
- Rumford is located in Oxford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,735 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rumford <5>
- Paris
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast) - Norway
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norway have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway
- Norway is located in Oxford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,990 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norway <5>
- Mexico
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mexico have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
- Mexico is located in Oxford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,635 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mexico <5>
- Gorham
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gorham have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorham
- Gorham is located in Coos County (NH)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,593 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gorham <5>
- Dixfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixfield
- Dixfield is located in Oxford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,481 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dixfield <5>
- West Paris
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Paris
- West Paris is located in Oxford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,689 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Paris <5>
- Waterford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
- Waterford is located in Oxford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,602 people
- Waterford has also been known as:
- Sweats Island
- Sweet Island
- Swetts Island
- Waterford Flat
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waterford <5>
- Woodstock
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodstock have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Woodstock is located in Oxford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,308 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodstock <5>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Bethel. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Bethel.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Bethel. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bethel.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Bethel. Our list includes 5 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Bethel.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Bethel ...
Looking for more information about Bethel? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Bethel, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Bethel.
Adding Bethel to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Bethel in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Bethel was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Bethel post office opened in 1815.
We also found Bethel in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Bethel.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bethel. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Oxford County: www.oxfordcounty.org/
The official website for State of Maine: https://www.maine.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Maine's counties, including Oxford, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Bethel. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Bethel - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Bethel). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Bethel or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |