BETHEL

NAME: Bethel COUNTY: Roosevelt ROADS: 2WD GRID: 4 CLIMATE: Sun, Snow, Rain, dust, wind, some times all the same day. BEST TIME TO VISIT: Any time is a good time

COMMENTS: Another community that had its beginning during the early homestead days.It had its beginning in 1901. Nothing left today but memories. REMAINS: Not a trace

Settled in 1901 by a group of families from Lockney, Texas, Bethel is one of the oldest of the community settlements.When originally established ten miles west of Portales, Bethel was in Chaves County. Many of the first homesteaders here were members of the Church of Christ, and their minister, S. W. Smith, came to the new settlement with them. These early settlers immediately set about building a church and school, boasting of having one of the few two-teacherschools in the county.In the volume "The Land of Sunshine", published in 1906, the author described Bethel as a historical place, for pioneerswere there because 'they were American, daring, and brave.' The land in the vicinity entered under the Homstead Act was occupied and settled as a farming and ranching community. Submitted by: Samuel W McWhorter

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