Bethlehem, formerly a part of Woodbury, was probably settled before 1700, and in 1739 organized as a parish with a Biblical name, originally spelled Bethlem. A separate town was incorporated in 1787. The town is rolling, with a high elevation. It is characteristic of this part of Connecticut that the farms are on the uplands and the woods in the stream valleys.
Going south from Morris on R. 61, we travel along an 1100-foot ridge, with a fine view in both directions. To the west is the attractive Long Meadow Pond. Below the pond, a road running at right angles to the highway leads in both directions to a number of old houses, of which the best is the Cot. John Steele House, built about 1740, on Munger Lane, 1 mile west (I/2 mile north.) Beyond this the next road to the north crosses Todd Hill, with a good view of the surrounding country.
On our right as we enter Bethlehem village, facing down the Green, is the house, considerably altered, occupied by Rev. Joseph Bellamy, the first minister of the church who served for 51 years from 1738 until his death in 1789. During that time he had become noted as a preacher and theologian, and taught in his home a succession of young men preparing for the ministry. This counts as the first theological seminary in America. The old pulpit from which Bellamy preached stands in a corner of the present meeting house. A monument on the north end of the Green marks the site of the original church.
About 1 1/2 miles east of the center is a picturesque ravine, extending for a mile below the hill known as Devil's Backbone. HaIf a mile west of the village is Bird Pond. There are several interesting houses in the Crane Hollow section, 2 miles west of R. 61 near the Woodbury town line.