Bethel, Maine
| Bethel, Maine | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
Civil War Monument
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| Motto: "Maine's Most Beautiful Mountain Village" | |
 Bethel, Maine
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| Coordinates: 44°24′44″N 70°47′4″W / 44.41222°N 70.78444°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Maine |
| County | Oxford |
| Incorporated | 1796 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 65.91 sq mi (170.71 km2) |
| • Land | 64.60 sq mi (167.31 km2) |
| • Water | 1.31 sq mi (3.39 km2) |
| Elevation | 679 ft (207 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 2,607 |
| • Estimate (2012) | 2,605 |
| • Density | 40.4/sq mi (15.6/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 04217, 04286 |
| Area code(s) | 207 |
| FIPS code | 23-04825 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0582352 |
| Website | The Town of Bethel, Maine |
Bethel is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,607 at the 2010 census. It includes the villages of West Bethel and South Bethel. The town is home to Gould Academy, a private preparatory school, and is near the Sunday River ski resort.
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, the name taken from the Book of Genesis and meaning "House of God."
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