About Bethlehem
The town of Bethlehem, located in Litchfield County, is in the north-central part of the state and contains Bethlehem Village, the town's historic district. Settled in 1734 and designated a town in 1787, Bethlehem, as it was then called, was home to Joseph Bellamy, founder of the first theological school in America. Until the early nineteenth century, the town was primarily a farming settlement. Still, using abundant water power, textile mills, a wagon factory, and a straw hat factory began operating there. Today Bethlehem is known as Connecticut's "Christmas Town," the home and garden of Bellamy-Ferriday. The town's name encourages thousands of visitors each December to send their Christmas cards to the local post office to be postmarked "Bethlehem." The post office also has about 100 Christmas stamps for customers to decorate envelopes for the holiday season.