Summary for Bethel

Although we found mention of Bethel during our research, we have little information about it.<1> Over time, we expect to discover additional information that will be added to our Gazetteer..

About Bethel (Click for our profile page)

Located in: Columbus County (see below)

Time Zone: Bethel lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT)

Telephone Area Code: (910)

Elevation: 50 feet [15.24 m] above sea level<2>

GPS Coordinates (Latitude/Longitude)<3>

For the purpose of mapping and calculating distances, we have chosen the following reference point for Bethel:

Lat: 34.124100° (or 34°7'26" N)

Lon: -78.712800° (or -78°42'46" W)

USGS Topo Map: Pireway<4>

Federal GNIS/FIPS Codes for Bethel

GNIS ID: 1006130

FIPS State / Place Code: 37 / 05380

(For more about Federal Codes, see our Misc Page for Bethel)

About Columbus County

The community of Whiteville is the County Seat for Columbus County.

From the 2010 US Census (For more detail, see our Census Page for Columbus)

Population

Year	Population
2019 Est:<5>	55,452 (4.55% decrease since 2010)
2010	58,098 (6.12% increase since 2000)
2000:	54,749

Total Area:<6> 953 sq. miles [2,469.9 km²] - of which 1.71% is water (16.35 sq. miles [42.3 km²])

Housing Units: <7> 26,042

Official Website: www.columbusco.org/main

Federal GNIS/FIPS Codes for Columbus

GNIS ID: 1026339

FIPS State / County Code: 37 / 047

(For more about Federal Codes, see our Misc Page for Bethel)

About North Carolina

From the US Census

Population

Year	Population
2019 Est:	10,501,384 (10.13% increase since 2010)
2010:	9,535,483 (18.46% increase since 2000)
2000:	8,049,313

Websites for State of North Carolina

Official Website: https://www.nc.gov/

Tourism: https://www.visitnc.com/

Parks: https://www.ncparks.gov/

Fishing & Hunting: https://www.ncwildlife.org/

Federal GNIS/FIPS Codes for State of North Carolina

GNIS ID: 1027616

FIPS State: 37

(For more about Federal Codes, see our Misc Page for Bethel)

Off-the-Road Links ...

The official website for Columbus County: www.columbusco.org/main

The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>	If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer. For example, we might find a sentence like "He went south past Bethel and then turned west". While Bethel could be some kind of landmark, we think that it's more likely to be a community. We've added Bethel as a placeholder with the hope that we'll be able to add more information in the future. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Bethel could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. Just in case there has been confusion between counties, we found that there are 8 North Carolina communities also named Bethel. While this community is located in Columbus County, the others are located in the following counties: Alexander, Caswell, Haywood, Hoke, Madison, Perquimans, Pitt and Watauga. For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bethel.
<2>	The elevation is an estimate for the area around Bethel - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>	Longitude & latitude values may not be the geographic center of Bethel, rather it may be a prominent intersection or the center of population, etc. It will vary depending on the source.
<4>	Name of the USGS 7.5 Minute topographic map which includes Bethel.
<5>	Every year, the US Census Bureau creates a population estimate for the preceeding year. Keep in mind that this value is an estimate and not an actual count. The most recent Census estimate is for the year 2019.
<6>	The area value has been supplied by the US Census Bureau and it can be different than the geographic boundaries of Bethel. The value given by the Census Bureau reflects their statistical (or sampling) requirements. For example, if there is a cluster of people living just outside of the community's official boundary, the Census-defined area might be expanded to include that group.
<7>	A Housing Unit is a broad term for those places where people live (whether occupied or temporarily vacant), such as a house, an apartment, a mobile home, or an area that is considered as a separate living quarter. Separate living quarters (consisting of one or more rooms) are considered to be those places where people live, sleep and eat separately from others and that have access to the outside (either directly or by a shared hallway).