On this tract, Bethel hamlet, afterwards known as Corner Catch (Ketch), is the location of the current village of Chelsea.

[7] Robert Pyle, a leader of the Society of Friends, was almost continuously a member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly from 1688 until 1705.

[8] In 1759, residents of Bethel Township paid "a bounty" of ten pounds "in behalf of the township" along with a wagon and supplies of oats and flour to General John Forbes based on his request to Chester and other counties in the province to support an army about to march to Fort Duquesne under his command.

[7] In 1777, after the Battle of Brandywine, the British Army passed through Bethel Township on Old Concord Road as they chased the retreating Continental Army toward Chester and encamped at nearby Birmingham and Aston.

[12] Garnet mines were established in Bethel township by Herman Behr & Co. of New York in 1879.

[15] The Booth Farm built in 1819 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The management team consists of chief, sergeant, detective and are supported by approximately 15 patrol officers.

[3] According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 5.7 square miles (15 km2), all land.

The southern border of Bethel is part of the Twelve-Mile Circle, the circular boundary between Delaware and Pennsylvania which dates back to 1681.

In 1834, the Pennsylvania Public School Act was passed by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth.

The law required that every township, borough and city in the state provide a school for its children.

The first school inspectors appointed for Bethel were Robert McCall and John Larkin.

[23] In 1839, a one-story octagonal school house was built at Booth's Corner and used for several years until destroyed by fire.

[26] On July 1, 1964, Bethel agreed to join with Concord and Chester Heights Borough to form the Garnet Valley School District.

It follows Conchester Highway along a northwest-to-southeast alignment across the northeastern portion of the township.

PA 261 follows Foulk Road southwestward from US 322 through the middle of the township to the Delaware state line.

Finally, PA 491 follows Naamans Creek Road along a northwest-southeast alignment across the southern portion of the township.