Christmas is a perfect time to drop a list about Georgia’s own little town of Bethlehem.
Located in Barrow County, the town of about 700 people typically only comes up in news stories and conversation when people talk about getting Christmas cards postmarked there.
Here are five things you probably didn’t know about Bethlehem, Georgia.
It is actually named after a church
The city isn’t directly named after the Biblical city of Bethlehem. The city gets its name from Barrow County’s oldest church, Bethlehem Methodist. The church was established in the 1790s and was central to the community.
A gospel songwriter chose the town’s name
When the city was being incorporated, it was a Gospel songwriter who lived in the area who first suggested calling the new city “Bethlehem” after the church. That songwriter’s name was Judson L. Moore
Christmas is everywhere
In keeping with its Biblical name, all of the streets in Bethlehem, Georgia carry names related to the Biblical story of the Nativity. The town has is a Star Street and a Manger Avenue, just to name two.
It’s all about the postmark
The Bethlehem post office — located on Christmas Avenue — gets incredibly busy leading up to Christmas.
People travel for miles to get their Christmas cards postmarked with “Bethlehem’s” town name. The post office in this town of less than 1,000 residents has been known to handle nearly 150,000 Christmas cards per year.
The town’s motto references it’s Christmas theme
If you were the person tasked with coming up with a motto or slogan for Georgia’s town of Bethlehem, what would you suggest? Bethlehem’s clever Christmas-y motto is “The little town under the star.”
Poultry is big business
The economic driver in Bethlehem is the poultry business. The city’s largest employer is Harrison Poultry Inc. With 1,100 employees, it is the 2nd largest employer in Barrow County. The business started in 1948.
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