Bethel
Ghost town · Lauderdale County, Alabama

Bethel is a ghost town in Lauderdale County, Alabama. It is one of 38 former communities in Lauderdale County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 2nd among the 53 Alabama counties with a vanished settlement on record.
The U.S. Geological Survey lists Bethel as a historical populated place on the Union Hill topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 34.9773° N, 87.2278° W.
Key facts
| USGS quadrangle | Union Hill |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 822 ft |
| Nearest living town | Lester, AL |
| Distance to it | 4.1 miles |
| GNIS feature ID | 145066 |
| Coordinates | 34.97731, -87.22779 |
What's there now
Bethel is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Lester, AL (population 130), about 4.1 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 822 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.
Nearby places
- Sugarghost town · Lauderdale County · 1.5 mi
- Westmorelandghost town · Lauderdale County · 2.3 mi
- New Georgiaghost town · Lauderdale County · 5.4 mi
- Hurricaneghost town · Lauderdale County · 7 mi
- Cliftonghost town · Limestone County · 7.1 mi
- Cedar Hillghost town · Lauderdale County · 7.4 mi
- Estepghost town · Lauderdale County · 7.4 mi
- Corumghost town · Lauderdale County · 7.6 mi
- Willsghost town · Lawrence County · 7.7 mi
- Dustinghost town · Lawrence County · 9.4 mi
- Shoemaker Springsghost town · Limestone County · 9.5 mi
- Shady Groveghost town · Lawrence County · 11.1 mi
Questions
Where is Bethel?
Bethel is in Lauderdale County, Alabama, at 34.9773, -87.2278.
How many ghost towns are in Lauderdale County?
Lauderdale County, Alabama has 38 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names) — GNIS Domestic Names, feature record (public-domain)
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line and ACS — Census Gazetteer + ACS 5-year population (public-domain)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.