Bethesda

History

Bethesda has had three names: Burrs Mills, Fairmount, and Bethesda. When the railroad reached the village in 1852, the Central Ohio Railroad built a station and named it Burr's Mills in honor of Merrick S. Burr, who operated a sawmill in the area. In 1855, Burr laid out a village which he called Fairmount because of its high and beautiful location. Prior to that time, there was a store, the Bethesda Methodist Church, and a post office, all located about 2 miles south of the current town on what now CR 26, and the post office was named after the church. The store proprietor was the postmaster and when he moved his store to the town, the post office also was relocated but retained its name. As a result, the town was called Fairmount while the railroad station was Burr's Mills and the post office was Bethesda. In the late 1800s, the name of Bethesda was finally chosen for the town. Bethesda was incorporated as a village in 1910. In 1920, the town contracted with the E. Howard Watch & Clock Company to supply a town clock, which was erected atop the Orrison Cigar Co. building on Main Street and is dedicated to Bethesda's World War I veterans. In 2010, the clock was removed from service and placed in storage. Businessman Robert E. Murray, spearheaded the restoration of the clock and established the Murray Family Memorial Plaza, which was dedicated in 2017. The facility and the restored clock are dedicated to military veterans from all services.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  976
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  905
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  733
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  731
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  689
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  678
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  658
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  643

Largest nearby schools

• Union Local Elementary School
  Elementary · Belmont · 635 students · 14.1:1 ratio
• Barnesville Elementary School
  Elementary · Barnesville · 544 students · 20.9:1 ratio
• Barnesville Middle School
  Middle · Barnesville · 436 students · 20.8:1 ratio
• Union Local High School
  High · Belmont · 434 students · 14.5:1 ratio
• Barnesville High School
  High · Barnesville · 400 students · 20:1 ratio
• Union Local Middle School
  Middle · Belmont · 342 students · 18:1 ratio
• Belmont Career Center
  High · Saint Clairsville · 285 students · 8.4:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2025-05-09
  3 km S of Pleasant City, Ohio
• M 2.8 — 2025-04-29
  1 km SE of Pleasant City, Ohio
• M 3.1 — 2025-04-24
  3 km S of Pleasant City, Ohio
• M 3.1 — 2025-04-22
  3 km ESE of Buffalo, Ohio
• M 2.8 — 2025-02-03
  0 km NE of Reno, Ohio
• M 2.5 — 2024-09-11
  4 km WNW of Claysville, Pennsylvania