Bethlehem, Ohio

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1924 and the latest in 1992. It stands in Waldo Township. It lies in ZIP code area 43342. The Survey maps it on the Prospect quadrangle. The federal gazetteer marks this settlement historical: it is no longer a populated place, though the surveys that recorded it still are.

Bethlehem within Marion County

Then and now

1924 to 1992

The same ground, surveyed 68 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Bethlehem (historical), surveyed 1992

Topographic sheet of Bethlehem (historical), surveyed 1924

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 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.

1924 USGS Delaware quadrangle1:62500
1925 USGS Delaware quadrangle1:62500
1944 USGS Delaware quadrangle1:62500
1950 USGS Marion quadrangle1:250000
1961 USGS Prospect quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
1962 USGS Marion quadrangle1:250000
1966 USGS Marion quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
1986 USGS Bellefontaine quadrangle1:100000
1992 USGS Bellefontaine quadrangle1:100000

In the county-history sources

30,737 words on this township

The History of Marion County, Ohio, Containing a History of the County; Its Townships, Towns, Churches, Schools, Etc; General and Local Statistics; Military Record; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; History of the Northwest Territory; History of Ohio, published 1883 names this settlement in its chapter on Waldo Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

This fort was built some time during the war of 1812. This structure and Wyatt' s hotel were comprised in one inclosure of pickets made from split slabs. It contained about one-half or three-fourths of an acre, and was built by Capt, Taylor, of that war. The pickets were about three inches thick, and from five to six feet in height, Whenever there was an Indian alarm, the settlers would lodge in this fort. It stood a good rnany years. It contained two block-houses, one at the southwest corner and one at the northeast ; one was made of round logs and the other of hewn logs. On the top log of the latter was painted. " Fort Morrow. Built by Capt. Taylor." These block-houses were built with a full upper story projecting out all around about four feet, over a basement six feet high. It had portholes, and one cannon was kept at the fort.

Passage source: The History of Marion County, Ohio, Containing a History of the County; Its Townships, Towns, Churches, Schools, Etc; General and Local Statistics; Military Record; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; History of the Northwest Territory; History of Ohio, published 1883.

This is the name of a section of country or settlement, derived from the following incident: In the spring of 1833, Frederick X. Zachman and John Holler were on their way to the residence of Jacob J. Idleman, three miles distant, each bearing on his shoulder an empty sack; and when they passed the house of Mr. Kraner, father of Christian Kraner, he inquired where they were going. They replied that they were going to Mr. Idleman's for corn meal, when Mr. Kraner remarked, "Oh, poor Bethlehem!" probably from the fact that they were " begging." Ever since then, the community there has been known by that name. It comprises all the land west of the Marion & Delaware pike as far south as the treaty line, and includes about a mile north and south by two miles east and west, in Pleasant Township. The first settlers in Bethlehem were Martin Snyder, William Kaufmann, Jacob Klingel and F. X. Zachman, in 1832. The last named was from Baden, Germany. Charles Butler and Christian Cross came in 1834. They were followed by Adam Wells, B. Anselment, John G. Gabler, J. Wolhnger, Mr. Bender (father of Philip), Christian Fox, Jacob F. Moyer, James Johnson, J. Mechtley and Mr. Davids.

Methodist Episcopal Church. - Tins was first organized at a private house in 1834 or 1835. Isaac Dutton and wife and Marshall Mason and wife and daughters, and others, were the first members. The first church building was erected about the year 1838, on the main street in "Waldo, 30x 45 feet in size; but this has been replaced by a new one on the same site, 34x48 feet, at an expense of $2,000. There are now thirty-eight members of this society, with S. Wilson, J. Powell and S. Lewellen as Class Leaders, and S. Wilson as Steward.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Waldo Township - it names this place 3 more 3 times.

Fires near this place

1 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Bethlehem (historical) in 2002, burning under an acre in total. None started naturally. 1 was 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
Arson/incendiarism	1

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
26 June 2002	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Marion County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 380 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 380 specimens collected within 10 miles of Bethlehem (historical) between 1892 and 1975: 368 Animalia, 8 Fungi, 4 Plantae. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. Ogilvie, Acker, G., Baumgartner, L. 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.

Species	Year	Collected by	Where, as recorded
Catocala habilis Grote, 1872	1959	not recorded	Camp Owens
Elasmus albizziae Burks, 1965	1964	J. Peacock	[Not Stated]
Galium circaezans Michx.	1892	E E Bogue	Prospect
Fusarium culmorum (Wm.G.Sm.) Sacc.	1919	Lewis H. L.	Marion
Helminthosporium teres Sacc.	1919	MCFARLAND F. T.	Marion
Puccinia graminis Pers.	1919	MCFARLAND F. T.	Prospect
Puccinia rubigo-vera var. tritici (Erikss.) Carleton	1919	MCFARLAND F. T.	Marion
Photinus pyralis (Linnaeus, 1767)	1923	not recorded	Marion
Rallus limicola limicola Vieillot, 1819	1923	Lyle D. Miller	Claridon, Lake Aquilla
Buteo jamaicensis borealis (Gmelin, 1788)	1924	Lyle D. Miller	Claridon
Acris crepitans Baird, 1854	1929	Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard)	Grand Twp: along Tymochtee Cr., Marion Co., Ohio
Rana clamitans Latreille, 1801	1929	Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard)	Montgomery Twp.: Tymochtee Creek trib., Marion Co., Ohio

All 380 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 11 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Bethlehem (historical): 6 producers, 5 past producers. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Fleming Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Fleming Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Green Camp Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Green Camp Gravel Plant	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Penry Dredge	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Penry Dredge	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Prospect Gravel Plant	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Prospect Sand	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Ri Alto Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Union Aggregates Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer

Every working recorded in Marion 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Lynn	1.7 miles	15
The Groves At Newmans Crossing	2.7 miles	15
Owens	2.9 miles	13
Quarry Estates	3.0 miles	13
Newmans	3.2 miles	12
Waldo	3.4 miles	15
Prospect	3.8 miles	12
Southern Estates	4.0 miles	12

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 Bethlehem (historical)	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q24894417	The 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 1070636. 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.