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Bethany, Missouri

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1948 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Bethany Township. It lies in ZIP code area 64424. It stands on Buck Branch. The Survey maps it on the Bethany quadrangle. 2,915 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 892 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Bethany within Harrison County

On record in Bethany

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Bethany fell from 3,292 to 2,915 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20103,292
20202,915-377 (-11%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 12 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

41 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 41 fires within 5 miles of Bethany between 1997 and 2014, burning about 826 acres in total. None started naturally. 9 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning12
Arson/incendiarism9
Missing data/not specified/undetermined8
Equipment and vehicle use7
Smoking3
Recreation and ceremony1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
20 June 1997Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
19 June 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
18 June 1997Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
3 May 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
7 April 2013Debris and open burning3.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
4 April 2002Debris and open burning80 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
3 April 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
28 April 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Harrison County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 20 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 20 workings within 5 miles of Bethany: 17 past producers, 3 producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Arney QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Nelson QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Sperry QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Sperry QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Harrison County

Storms near this place

60 of 73 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bethany in 73 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 40 hail, 24 thunderstorm wind, 4 flash flood, 3 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2004HailBethany$90,000School and numerous cars damaged by the hail.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindBethany$25,000Numerous buildings were reported to have lost roof vents in town. Numerous sheds were also blown over throughout Bethany.
May 2019HailBethany$20,000Several windows were broken from wind blown quarter sized hail.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindBethany$5,000Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated to 70 mph, downed trees and powerlines in the Bethany area.
May 1999Thunderstorm WindBethany$5,000Several car windows were blown out by thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 70 mph.
May 2004HailBethany$5,000no account filed
August 2007Thunderstorm WindBethany$3,000Numerous trees and powerlines downed within the town of Bethany, due to severe thunderstorm wind gusts to 60 knots.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindBethany$1,000Power lines were blown down. Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated up to 60 mph.
May 2025HailBethany-Quarter sized hail reported in Bethany.
April 2024HailBethany-Half dollar sized hail was reported on the southwest side of Bethany.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindBethany-Estimated gusts up to 60 mph in Bethany with power outages on the east side of town.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindBethany-Trees were downed and power went out across Bethany.
May 2023HailBethany-Mostly quarter to golf ball sized hail with a few stones up to baseball size was reported just south of Bethany.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindBethany-Fire department reported 60 to 70 mph wind, and emergency management reported power poles down in Bethany.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindBethany-There was a report of 65 mph wind with power poles down in Bethany.
December 2021Thunderstorm WindBethany-There was a report of powerlines down in Bethany.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindBethany-Several 2 foot diameter trees were blown down. Several windows were blown out from wind blown hail and debris. Damage estimates unknown.
May 2019Flash FloodBethany-Flooding of 5 to 6 feet over roads in Bethany continued due to heavy rains through the morning and afternoon.
May 2019Flash FloodBethany-Several vehicles were stranded in Bethany due to rushing flood water.
September 2019FloodBethany-US Highway 69 was closed near Bethany due to high water.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindBethany-A tree was down on Highway 69, just north of Bethany.
June 2017Flash FloodBethany-There were reports of numerous flooded roadways in Bethany, as well as water entering the basement of Harrison County Community Hospital.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindBethany-A tree was down.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindBethany-A few 2 to 4 inch tree limbs were reported snapped in Bethany, Missouri.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindBethany-A member of the public reported a 60 mph wind gust via social media.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindBethany-Winds were estimated to be 60 MPH.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindBethany-Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated up to 60 mph.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindBethany-Several tree limbs were reproted down.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindBethany-One large tree down.
May 2004Tornado (F0)Bethany-Brief tornado touchdown documented by storm chasers.
May 2004Tornado (F0)Bethany-Brief tornado touchdown at Highway 136 and CC.
May 2004Tornado (F4)Bethany-Large F4 tornado crossed into Harrison county from Daviess county 5 miles south of Bethany over rural land and then dissipated.
April 2002HailBethany-Also reported damaging wind gusts.
June 2000Heavy RainBethany-The NWS cooperative observer at Bethany reported a 24 hour rainfall total of 5.70 inches.
June 1998HailBethany-Dime-size hail was reported on the south side of Bethany by a local radio station.
April 1995HailBethany-Quarter-size hail was covering the ground across the area.
April 1995HailBethany-Quarter-size hail was covering the ground across the area.
July 1995HailBethany-One-inch hail reported eight miles north of Bethany while dime-size hail was reported in Bethany.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindBethany-A severe thunderstorm produced a 60 mph wind gust in Bethany.
August 2019HailBethany-no account filed
May 2019HailBethany-no account filed
May 2019HailBethany-no account filed
May 2019HailBethany-no account filed
June 2015HailBethany-no account filed
May 2014HailBethany-no account filed
May 2014HailBethany-no account filed
May 2014HailBethany-no account filed
June 2010HailBethany-no account filed
June 2010HailBethany-no account filed
June 2010HailBethany-no account filed
May 2010HailBethany-no account filed
September 2010HailBethany-no account filed
April 2006HailBethany-no account filed
May 2005HailBethany-no account filed
June 2005HailBethany-no account filed
May 2004HailBethany-no account filed
June 2004Thunderstorm WindBethany-no account filed
October 2004HailBethany-no account filed
April 2003HailBethany-no account filed
April 2003HailBethany-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Harrison County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Gardner4.1 miles9
Mitchellville4.5 miles16
Wildwood6.5 miles16
Pleasant Ridge6.8 miles16
Blue Ridge7.2 miles13
Bridgeport8.0 miles16
Martinsville8.6 miles12
New Hampton8.9 miles12

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on BethanyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q831200The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 730057. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.