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Bethel

Ghost town · Polk County, Oregon

Mc Minnville quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1926, 1:62,500)
Mc Minnville quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1926, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Bethel is a ghost town in Polk County, Oregon, recorded as unincorporated community. It is one of 15 former communities in Polk County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 5th among the 34 Oregon counties with a vanished settlement on record.

Bethel was established in 1846, in the first half of the 19th century.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Bethel as a historical populated place: 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 45.0406° N, 123.1840° W.

Key facts

Founded1846
Nearest living townAmity, OR
Distance to it5.3 miles
Coordinates45.04060, -123.18400

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Bethel is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Amity, OR (population 1,972), about 5.3 miles away in a straight line. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Images

Bethel Church (formerly Bethel College), northwest of Salem, Oregon; looking southeast from driveway. The building in the rear is the former school's gymnasium/
Bethel Church (formerly Bethel College), northwest of Salem, Oregon; looking southeast from driveway. The building in the rear is the former school's gymnasium/ · Twisted86 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Bethel?

Bethel is in Polk County, Oregon, at 45.0406, -123.1840.

How many ghost towns are in Polk County?

Polk County, Oregon has 15 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

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.