Bethel

City in southwest Alaska, 644 km/400 mi west of Anchorage, at the mouth of the Kuskokwim River on Kuskokwim Bay; population (2000) 5,500. It is a centre for fishing, trapping, and hunting.

Originally an Inuit village, Bethel is the site of a Moravian mission founded in 1885. It was long a supply point for prospectors. Flooding and erosion are problematic on the low, marshy river, especially at ice breakup in the spring.

Bethel

Town in southwestern Connecticut, 8 km/5 mi southeast of Danbury; population (1990) 17,500. It is a suburb of Danbury, with some light manufacturing, including the production of chemicals. In recent years there has also been an increase in corporate headquarters development.

Founded in 1700, Bethel was once, like Danbury, a hatmaking centre.

Bethel

Small town in northeastern Missouri, 56 km/35 mi southeast of Kirksville, on the North River; population (1990) 100. Situated in an agricultural region, it was founded as a religious commune in 1844 by Germans from Pennsylvania and Ohio led by Wilhelm Keil.

The colony was extant until 1879; over 30 of the original buildings remain.

Bethel

Town in southeastern New York State, 13 km/8 mi northwest of Monticello; population (1990) 3,700. Its economy is based on agriculture. It was the actual site of the 1969 Woodstock concert; when local restrictions in Woodstock, 72 km/45 mi to the northeast, prevented performance there, promoters rented the Max Yasgur farm in Bethel.