City Spotlight on Bethlehem: Grown from Cotton and Commerce ... and Still Growing

Did you know that the town of Bethlehem actually got its start as a small village in Walton County in the early 1800s?

It developed from homesteads owned by members of the congregation at Bethlehem Methodist Church, established in late 1700s. When the Gainesville Midland Railroad ran between Gainesville and Social Circle in 1884, some forward-thinking brothers by the name of Beddingfield built the first store in the emerging town. This first store still stands today and once served as the post office. Other commercial enterprises around that same time were a blacksmith shop, a large general store, two banks, a drug store, a cotton gin and a warehouse.

That very same year, the town officially adopted its name from the Bethlehem Methodist Church, and streets were laid out to bear names symbolic of the first Christmas.

Thanks to a period of prosperity due to cotton production in the area, the town experienced more growth when many new residences were built in the 1880s and 1890s. Unfortunately, like many other towns in the South, all of this growth came to a virtual standstill when the boll weevil epidemic hit the state of Georgia. In 1914, Barrow County was formed from portions of Gwinnett, Jackson and Walton Counties, and Bethlehem was welcomed into the Barrow County fold.

While some may consider Bethlehem to be small in comparison to some of the other cities in Barrow County, look at how far it has come in terms of commercial development with the recent arrival of the Barrow Crossing Shopping Center, featuring such well-known tenants as Target, Belk, Staples, PetSmart, Stevi B’s, Publix and more. It's just another fine example of forward-thinking visionaries at work. Way to grow again, Bethlehem.

Check back every Tuesday for a new City Spotlight on Bethlehem.

Cite: Barrow County Comprehensive Plan 1998-2018: Chapter 5 Historic Resoures; Northeast Georgia Planning (negplanning.org ); authored by the Preservation Planner on behalf of the Barrow County Comprehensive Plan Citizens Advisory Committee. http://www.negplanning.org/documents/32 (June 14, 2011)