History, News and Stories of Bethany, Connecticut, USA

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• 1664 - (Bethany, CT) - Alexander Bryan of Milford buys Lebanon Swamp (Bethany Bog) in Bethany from Nehantond, a Naugatuck Indian, for 30 shillings;
  he sells it to New Haven ten years later. Nehantond seems to be the earliest landowner of record in Bethany area.
  www.bethany-ct.com/ historicalSociety/ bhs-facts.htm
  
• 1700 – Proprietors in Milford purchase from the Paugusset Indians a tract of land in western Bethany between Bladen’s Brook and Lebanon Brook (now called Hockanum Brook).
  This tract is known as the Two-Bit Purchase – two bits being the price of a share in the purchase...
  www.bethany-ct.com/ historicalSociety/ bhs-facts.htm
  
• 1702 – Proprietors in Milford purchase from the Paugusset Indians a tract of land in northwestern Bethany between Lebanon Brook and the Waterbury line. This tract is known as the One-Bit Purchase.
  
  www.bethany-ct.com/ historicalSociety/ bhs-facts.htm
  
• 1717 - Bethany, CT was first settled as part of Woodbridge
  
  connecticuthistory.org/ towns-page/ bethany/
  
• 1738 – Amity Parish is incorporated by the General Assembly of the Connecticut Colony. The Parish territory includes most of the present townships of Bethany and Woodbridge. Amity Parish includes the Two-Bit Purchase but not the One-Bit Purchase.
  
  www.bethany-ct.com/ historicalSociety/ bhs-facts.htm
  
• 1762 – The Amity Parish is subdivided and the northern part is incorporated by the General Assembly as the Bethany Parish; it is named for the Biblical village on the Mount of Olives where Jesus Christ raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-44).
  
  www.bethany-ct.com/ historicalSociety/ bhs-facts.htm
  
• 1763 - The Bethany Congregational Church is organized and Rev. Stephen Hawley begins his 41-year pastorate.
  
  www.bethany-ct.com/ historicalSociety/ bhs-facts.htm
  
• 1769 - (Bethany, CT) - Construction begun on First Meeting House of Congregational Church erected on old Bethany Green (corner of Dayton and Amity Roads). Completed in 1773.
  
  www.bethany-ct.com/ historicalSociety/ bhs-facts.htm
  
• In 1784, the Connecticut General Assembly incorporated the Bethany Parish into the town of Woodbridge.
  
  connecticuthistory.org/ bethany-small-town-perseverance- in-the-face-of-growing-industrialization
  
• 1831 – The First Church of Christ Congregational in Bethany Center is completed...
  
  www.bethany-ct.com/ historicalSociety/ bhs-facts.htm
  
• 1832 - Bethany was incorporated as a town in 1832.
  
  connecticuthistory.org/ towns-page/ bethany/
  
• 1840 - 1,170 people live in Bethany according to the U.S. Census
  
• 1844 - (Bethany, CT) - In 1844, an act of legislature took the town’s Straitsville area, along with parts of Waterbury and Oxford, to form Naugatuck.
  
  connecticuthistory.org/ towns-page/ bethany/
  
• 1854 - Bethany
  Bethany, a post-township of New Haven county, Connecticut, 8 miles N. by W. from New Haven. Population, 914.
  A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States: Giving a Full and Comprehensive Review of the Present Condition, Industry, and Resources of the American Confederacy ... Thomas Baldwin (of Philadelphia.) Joseph Thomas January 1, 1854 Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Company 1854.
  
• 1858 – First Woodbridge-Bethany Agricultural Society Fair held in Woodbridge. Some held on Fair Grounds in Bethany on present Fairwood Road. Continued until about 1890.
  
  www.bethany-ct.com/ historicalSociety/ bhs-facts.htm
  
• 1870 - 1,135 people live in Bethany, according to the U.S. Census
  
• 1894 – Bethany Lake is built on the West River by the New Haven Water Company; when the dam is filled, an earlier dam called the Nailworks Dam is inundated.
  
  www.bethany-ct.com/ historicalSociety/ bhs-facts.htm
  
• 1895 - Bethany
  Bethany, a post-township of New Haven co., Conn., about 9 miles N.N.W. of New Haven, is bounded on the W. by Naugatuck River. It has 3 churches. Pop. ... Read MORE...
  
  
• 1900 - 517 people live in Bethany, according the U.S. Census
  
• 1914 – First Bethany Town Hall built on Amity Road at Bethany Center.
  The building at 512 Amity Road in Bethany was erected in 1914 (with a small addition built in 1952) to serve as the Town Hall. In 1977, part of an... Read MORE...
  
  
• 1916
  Bethany, a post-township (town) of New Haven co., Conn., about 9 miles NNW. of New Haven, is bounded on the W. by Naugatuck River. Pop. in 1900, 517.
  Lippincotts New Gazetteer: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World, Containing the Most Recent and Authentic Information Respecting the Countries, Cities, Towns, Resorts, Islands, Rivers, Mountains, Seas, Lakes, Etc., in Every Portion of the Globe, Part 1 Angelo Heilprin Louis Heilprin - January 1, 1916 J.B. Lippincott - Publisher
  
• 1920 - 411 people live in Bethany, according to U.S. Census
  
• 1922 - (Bethany, CT) - Harris Whittemore Jr. of Naugatuck, recognizing the commercial potential of the area, purchased land and began building an airfield.
  What pilots first called Bethany Field, later became Bethany Airport, one of the earliest private airports in New England.
  connecticuthistory.org/ a-busy-airfield-in-bethany/
  
• 1930 - 480 people live in Bethany, according to U.S. Census