Bethel in Western Region, Connecticut — The American Northeast (New England)
Bethel
Photographed by Michael Herrick, March 4, 2018
1. Bethel Marker
When this area was settled, soon after 1685, it was part of its present neighbor, Danbury. As population grew, residents petitioned the General Assembly of the Colony for parish status and a church closer than the center of Danbury. In 1759 this was granted but the Assembly named the new parish Bethel, not Eastbury as petitioned.
The meeting house for the seventy-one members of the new Bethel Society was on the Main Street site of the present Congregational Church. Parish taxes were collected. By 1769 there were at least five schools within the Stony Hill, Plumtrees, Wolfpits, Wildcat, Center, and Grassy Plain settlements.
In April of 1777, British troops under General Tryon passed through Bethel, on their way to burn patriot stores in Danbury. They also burned nineteen houses and a church. Militiamen under Generals Wooster, Arnold, and Silliman pursued, many spending a rainy night in Bethel. The Parish at last gained town status in 1855. The house now occupied by the Bethel Library and the Historical Society is the Seelye homestead, built in 1842. Two Seelyes were college presidents, of Amherst an of Smith. Bethel is also the birthplace of P.T. Barnum, famous showman.
Erected 1975 by the Town of Bethel and the Connecticut Historical Commission
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1777.
Location. 41° 22.378′ N, 73° 24.47′ W. Marker is in Bethel in Western Region, Connecticut. It is at the intersection of Main Street and Chestnut Street, on the left when traveling east on Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Bethel CT 06801, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on the Connecticut Shoreline and in Greater Bridgeport. It is also in the American Northeast and in New England. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Fairfield County and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Bethel World War I Monument (approx. 0.2 miles away); In Memory of All Bethel Veterans (approx. 0.3 miles away); Phineas Taylor (P.T.) Barnum (approx. 0.3 miles away); Bethel Soldiers Memorial (approx. 0.4 miles away); Bethel Railway Station - 1912 (approx. 0.4 miles away); Plumtrees Honor Roll (approx. 1.4 miles away); Plumtrees School (approx. 1.4 miles away); Danbury World War II Memorial (approx. 1.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bethel.
Also see . . .
1. Town of Bethel, Connecticut. (Submitted on March 4, 2018, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut.)
2. Bethel, Connecticut on Wikipedia. (Submitted on March 4, 2018, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut.)
Photographed by Michael Herrick, March 4, 2018
2. Bethel Marker
Photographed by Michael Herrick, March 4, 2018
3. Bethel Marker
Photographed by Michael Herrick, March 4, 2018
4. Bethel Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on May 19, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 4, 2018, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut. This page has been viewed 1,007 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on March 4, 2018, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut.
