Bethlehem Center, New York
33 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Bethlehem town. It lies in ZIP code area 12077. It lies near Beacon Island. The Survey maps it on the Delmar quadrangle.
Then and now
1893 to 1989The same ground, surveyed 96 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Topographic sheets covering this place
15 surveys from 33 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1893 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1895 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500
- 1898 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500, 8 printings
- 1927 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500, 5 printings
- 1947 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500
- 1948 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1950 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500
- 1953 USGS Delmar quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1956 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1978 USGS Delmar quadrangle1:24000
- 1986 USGS Albany quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Albany quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
825 since 2000Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 825 fires within 5 miles of Bethlehem Center between 2000 and 2020, burning about 593 acres in total. 42 started naturally. 149 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 515 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 149 |
| Natural | 42 |
| Smoking | 29 |
| Debris and open burning | 28 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 27 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 18 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 7 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 4 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.2 acres | Fire Department of New York | NA |
| 9 September 2006 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 9 September 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 8 September 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 8 September 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 8 September 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 7 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 7 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Specimens collected near this place
12 of 4,498 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 4,498 specimens collected within 10 miles of Bethlehem Center between 1760 and 1975: 2,399 Animalia, 1,386 Fungi, 656 Plantae, 28 Unrecorded, 16 Chromista, 11 Protozoa, 2 Bacteria. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A C. Frederick, A C. Frederick, A C. Frederick, A. A. Heller and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.
| Image | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Cephalozia media Lindb. | 1898 | Charles H. Peck | near Albany |
![]() | Coniothyrium Corda, 1840 | 1899 | not recorded | |
![]() | Puccinia areolata Dietel & Holw. | 1900 | Aven Nelson | Telephone mines |
![]() | Hemaris thysbe Fabricius, 1775 | 1760 | W.W. Hill | |
![]() | Monotropa procera Torr. | 1817 | E. James | Near Albany |
![]() | Utricularia gibba L. | 1828 | J. Hall | Greenbush |
![]() | Peziza acetabulum L. | 1829 | H.H. Eaton | Albany |
![]() | Anaphalis margaritacea (L.) Benth. | 1830 | J. Torrey | Circa Albany |
![]() | Bidens tripartita L. | 1830 | Collector unspecified | Albany |
![]() | Spiranthes lacera (Raf.) Raf. | 1834 | Herb. (Jas.) Macnab | Albany |
![]() | Poa cuspidata Nutt. | 1837 | A. Clapp | N. Albany. |
![]() | Stylosanthes Sw. | 1837 | Clapp, A. | New Albany. |
All 4,498 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Bethlehem Center: 2 producers, 2 past producers, 1 occurrence. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Quartz. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal Hill Deposit | Quartz | Occurrence | ||
| East Greenbush Clay Pit | Clay | Producer | ||
| East Greenbush Clay Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Rensselaer Clay Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Rensselear Clay Pit | Clay | Producer |
Storms near this place
11 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bethlehem Center in 11 storm reports between 1998 and 2020: 9 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 1 hail. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethlehem Center | $8,000 | no account filed |
| June 2016 | Lightning | Bethlehem Center | $5,000 | A home in Glenmont was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm. Fire departments responded to the home due to a reported fire caused by the lightning strike. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethlehem Center | $4,000 | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethlehem Center | $2,000 | Scattered thunderstorms developed in an unstable airmass on the evening of March 30th. One of the storms became briefly severe as it blew down several trees in the town of Bethlehem, Albany County. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethlehem Center | $1,000 | no account filed |
| August 2020 | Hail | Bethlehem Center | - | Hail of 0.5 to 1.5 inches in size was reported. |
| October 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethlehem Center | - | Trees and power lined were downed on Wemple Road. Time was estimated by radar. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethlehem Center | - | Numerous trees and wires were reported down in Bethlehem Center due to strong thunderstorm winds. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethlehem Center | - | Numerous trees and wires were reported down in Bethlehem Center, and in several other portions within the town of Bethlehem due to strong thunderstorm winds. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethlehem Center | - | Law enforcement personnel reported that trees were blown onto a power line along Beaver Dam Road. |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bethlehem Center | - | Numerous trees blown down. |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glenmont | 1.2 miles | 33 | |
| Kenwood | 1.8 miles | 33 | |
| Elsmere | 2.0 miles | 33 | |
| Wemple | 2.1 miles | 33 | |
| Normansville | 2.2 miles | 32 | |
| Houcks Corners | 2.3 miles | 33 | |
| Delmar | 2.6 miles | 33 | |
| Lincoln Park Homes | 3.3 miles | 32 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 943797. 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.
Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
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.


























