[3] What is known is that prior to its formation, the land which would become Bethlehem was owned by Colonel John Armstrong, who had been the commander of Fort Finney (located in present-day Jeffersonville, Indiana).

The first settlers arrived at the site in 1805 Armstrong and others, most notably Jonathon Clark and William Plaskett, platted the community in 1812.

[4] Many of Bethlehem's early buildings, including a canning factory, gristmill, and sawmill, have been destroyed; particularly by fire and tornado.

[6] The largest crowd ever seen in Bethlehem was in 1861, when the locals waved their men goodbye to war.

Since 1947 a special cancellation stamp of "a red cachet of the Three Wise Men following the star to Bethlehem" is available.

The farmland rises well above the floodplain, which historically increased the need to ship goods using the Ohio River.