About Bethany History
The purpose of this website is to explore the history of Bethany, Connecticut. The northern part of Amity Parish, which was a hamlet of the Town of New Haven in Connecticut Colony, became Bethany Parish on the second Thursday of October, A. D. 1762. But the history of Bethany didn’t begin then; Bethany didn’t suddenly appear out of nowhere. Like every good story, Bethany has a backstory that can be traced through history. We won’t be going all the way back to Adam and Eve, but we will start with the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. If it weren’t for the Reformation, Bethany never would have become what it was, and what it is today. Bethany is not an island, either, and the story of Bethany is intertwined with that of its neighbors, so stories set elsewhere that have a strong connection to Bethany will also be included. While the backstory of Bethany gives a wide view of the events that led to its founding, the story of Bethany after its founding will focus on the lives of some of the individuals who were part of its history.