Bethlehem is a town in Barrow County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 715. The major employer in town is Harrison Poultry, which is the largest non-government employer in Barrow County. The town was named after a local church, Bethlehem Methodist Church, and has a strong Christmas theme, with many of the street names being references to the nativity of Jesus, such as Mary, Joseph, and Manger. After the introduction of a 1967 stamp in Bethlehem, the town became known as a popular location for sending mail from during the holidays, as the post office sends letters marked "from Bethlehem." History The land that Bethlehem and the surrounding Barrow County occupies was originally occupied by Cherokee and Creek tribes. European settlers first arrived in the area in 1786. The Bethlehem Methodist Church was established in 1796 in what would later become Bethlehem. The church opened an adjacent camp ground that was used between 1851 and 1894 which was used as a troop mobilization center during the American Civil War. The Confederate States Army's 16th Georgia Regiment was formed at the camp ground, and the grounds were used as a refugee camp during the war. During the Reconstruction era onwards the camp ground was used for various religious services. A Christian revival meeting was taking place on August 31, 1886, when shockwaves from the 1886 Charleston earthquake were felt at an estimated MMI intensity of 6. The camp ground is now the current location of the Bethlehem Methodist Church, which was built in 1949. The area was informally established as the community of Bethlehem in December 1883 as a stop along the Belmont – Monroe line of the Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad. The stop was named after the local Bethlehem Methodist Church. The church itself was named after the ancient town of Bethlehem, identified in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke as the birthplace of Jesus. The railway line was removed in 1946. Bethlehem was incorporated as a town in 1902 by an act of the Georgia General Assembly "under the name and style of the town of Bethlehem". At the time of its incorporation it was part of Walton County, but later became part of the newly formed Barrow County in 1914, which was created using land previously belonging to the nearby Gwinnett, Jackson, and Walton counties. In 1986