Bethel's recorded history began in 1683 as a land grant called Manlove's Grove. Kendal Lewis purchased portions of three land tracts, Manlove's Grove, Mitchell's Harbor, and Job's lot, from George Mitchell in 1795 and named it Lewis' Wharf. A small village developed around Lewis' Wharf, later called Lewisville, and renamed Bethel in 1880. Bethel was a shipbuilding town known for its design of a flat bottom schooner, the Ram. The Federal and Victorian homes throughout the town were constructed by ship carpenters and showcase the skill of the early residents. In 1975, Bethel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.