Bethel, Maine

An Abenaki Indian village was once located on the north side of the Androscoggin River, but had been abandoned before its subsequent English settlement. In 1769, the township was granted as Sudbury-Canada by the Massachusetts General Court to Josiah Richardson of Sudbury, Massachusetts and others (or their heirs) for services at the Battle of Quebec in 1690. It was first settled in 1774 when Nathaniel Segar of Newton, Massachusetts started clearing the land.

The Revolutionary War, however, delayed many grantees from taking up their claims. Only 10 families resided at Sudbury-Canada when it was plundered on August 3, 1781 during the last Indian attack in Maine. Two inhabitants, Benjamin Clark and Nathaniel Segar, were abducted and held captive in Quebec until the war's conclusion, after which the community grew rapidly. On June 10, 1796, Sudbury-Canada Plantation was incorporated as Bethel,[4] the name taken from the Book of Genesis and meaning "House of God."[5][6]

In 1802, a trade road (now Route 26) was completed from Portland to Errol, New Hampshire, passing through Bethel and bringing growth. More settlers and businesses arrived. Crops were planted on fertile intervales and meadows formerly cultivated by Indians. Bethel became one of the best farming towns in the state, especially for hay and potatoes. In winter, farmers found work logging, with the lumber cut at sawmills operated by water power from streams. Other manufacturers produced flour, leather and harnesses, furniture, boots and shoes, carriages, and marble and granite work. The Bethel House, a large hotel, was built in 1833.

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  Ferry across the Androscoggin River at West Bethel in 1909
• 
  The Prospect Hotel, largest in Bethel, as it appeared in 1909
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  Church Street in c. 1912
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  Main and Church streets in 1913

On March 10, 1851, the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad opened to Bethel, carrying freight and summer tourists eager to escape the noise, heat and pollution of cities. Between the Civil War and World War I, Bethel was a fashionable summer resort. Several hotels were built facing the common or on Bethel Hill. Begun in 1863, The Prospect Hotel was the largest, with a cupola from which guests could observe the mountains. Tally-ho coaches provided tours through wilderness landscapes of the White Mountains and Maine. Dr. John G. Gehring's famed clinic for nervous disorders attracted many wealthy patients. Between 1897 and 1926, a number of figures in the music world performed at the Maine Music Festivals organized by William Rogers Chapman. But with the advent of the automobile, tourists were no longer restricted by the limits of train service, but were free to explore. Consequently, many big hotels built near the tracks lost patrons, declined and were eventually torn down. The Prospect Hotel was largely destroyed by fire in 1911. Although transportation patterns and preferences in vacation accommodations have changed, Bethel remains a tourist destination for its natural setting, history and recreation resources.

Beginning in 1947 Bethel became the site of "pioneering work" in organizational development. Led by psychologist Kurt Lewin and, eventually, colleagues like Ken Benne and Ron Lippitt, research was conducted that helped lay the foundation for organizational development's theory and practice. T-groups and sensitivity training were refined to apply behavioral science to individual self-awareness and group functioning, in the service of organizational efficiency and productivity. The National Training Laboratories (NTL) was organized by Lewin to lead this work, with much or it conducted during summer seasons at Gould Academy. These seasonal research and training sessions were well attended, attracting participants from across the country and around the world. Increasingly, NTL became an important part of Bethel's economy, especially as the traditional wood product mill industries went into decline. Although NTL moved its headquarters to Alexandria, Virginia in 2008, it continues to maintain a small summer legacy presence in Bethel.[7]

Bethel is located on the western edge of the Oxford Hills and on the southern rim of the rugged Mahoosuc Range. Nearby Locke and Barker Mountains lie within the Mahoosuc Range, which is a subrange of the White Mountains, a part of the Northern Appalachian Mountains. Bethel and the surrounding area is drained by the Androscoggin River and its tributaries: the Alder, Pleasant and Sunday Rivers. The north edge of Songo Pond lies within Bethel's boundary. Just south of the boundary are located South Pond, North Pond and Bryant Ponds. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 65.91 square miles (170.71 km²), of which 64.60 square miles (167.31 km²) is land and 1.31 square miles (3.39 km²) is water.[2]

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  Memorial to American Civil War veterans
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  Bethel Public Library
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  Cole Block Bethel Maine
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  Gould Academy
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  Bethel's Olympia Snow Woman (122 ft, 2008), named for Senator Olympia Snowe
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  Sunday River Ski Resort near Bethel
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  Sunday River Covered Bridge near Bethel
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  Methodist Church
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  Middle Intervale Meeting House and Common
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  Victoria Inn

Mayor

• Maine School Administrative District 44 (MSAD 44)
  • Crescent Park Elementary School
  • Telstar Regional Middle/High School
• Gould Academy, a private coeducational preparatory school

• Henry J. Bean, judge and state representative in Oregon
• Matt Bevin (born 1967), Gould Academy student, businessman and Governor of Kentucky (2015–2019)
• Richard Blanco, 2013 U.S. presidential inaugural poet
• Timothy J. Carter, ME Representative for the 25th Congress and Luther C. Carter, NY Representative for the 36th Congress, both sons of Dr. Timothy Carter, the first physician to settle in the town
• Simon Dumont, Freeskier
• Cuvier Grover, Civil War era general
• Edwin Osgood Grover, Professor of Books at Rollins College
• Frederick Grover, Professor of Botany at Oberlin College
• La Fayette Grover, fourth Governor of Oregon, member of the United States House of Representatives and member of the United States Senate[11]
• Thomas Holt, architect
• Moses Mason, physician, congressman
• Edward Sylvester Morse (1838–1925), Gould Academy student and director of a predecessor to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts
• Mary Ann Frost Stearns Pratt, wife of Mormon leader Parley Pratt
• Patty Bartlett Sessions, midwife and plural wife of Joseph Smith
• Marshall Stedman, actor/director, playwright, author and drama teacher
• Philip Hunter Timberlake, entomologist
• James S. Wiley, congressman
• Bernie

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bethel, Maine.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Bethel, Maine.

• Town of Bethel, Maine
• Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce
• Gould Academy
• Sunday River (Newry, Maine)
• Great Brook Preserve (Newry, Maine)
• History of Bethel, Maine
• Hostelling International USA Bethel Youth Hostel Archived 2010-06-17 at the Wayback Machine

44°24′15″N 70°47′26″W