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Welcome to Bethel ...

So far, we found very little information about Bethel. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Bethel to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Bethel, please Contact Us.

Bethel would have been located within present day Clay County<2>.

The pronunciation of Bethel: beth-AHL<3>

While the community is gone, the present day location for Bethel is 510 feet [155 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: The area where Bethel was located is in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Note: If you travel east from Bethel, you will leave Central Time and cross into the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT).

The Area Codes where Bethel was located: 618 & 730<5>

Communities Also Named Bethel ...

While we believe that this Bethel is located in Clay County, we know of another 3 Illinois communities named Bethel. Those communities are located in the following counties: Jackson, Morgan and Vermilion County.

Beyond Illinois, 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), Indiana (2), Iowa, Kansas (3), Kentucky (3), Louisiana (2), Maine, 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.

  • Salem
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Flora
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Louisville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Louisville have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisville
    • Louisville is located in Clay County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,087 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Louisville <6>
  • Clay City
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Kinmundy
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Cisne
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cisne have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisne
    • Cisne is located in Wayne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 650 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cisne <6>
  • Farina
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Farina. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<8>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farina
    • Farina is located in Fayette County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 495 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farina <6>
  • Iuka
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iuka have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iuka
    • Iuka is located in Marion County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 462 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Iuka <6>
  • Edgewood
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgewood have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
    • Edgewood is located in Effingham County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edgewood <6>
  • Xenia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)

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. See our Newspapers Page for Bethel.

The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov

Footnotes ...

<1>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Bethel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Clay, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<3>The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Bethel. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Bethel - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 618 code has been Overlayed with the 730 area code. New phone numbers in the Bethel area will be assigned with one of these codes: 618 or 730. As a result, placing a call in the Bethel area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>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.
<8>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025