The name Bethlehem typically brings to mind the biblical birthplace of Jesus, but Bethlehem is also the name of a small town in the southern part of Barrow County in northeast Georgia.
The community has existed in some form since the early 1800s but did not become an incorporated town until the 1960s. It is located along Ga. 11 just south of busy Ga. 316. The only indicators of the town's existence to commuters on Ga. 316 are a pair of small signs and a gas station.
Mayor Sandy McNabb has lived in the town for more than 30 years and he says while the town has grown, it has managed to stay small despite the boom of the surrounding area.
"You get to talking to somebody and all that and you say you're from Bethlehem and they say 'where's that?' I say it's kind off to one side of Winder and down from Lawrenceville...and they say 'oh yeah, I've been through there before'."
Bethlehem's population is estimated at just over 600 people, a far cry from its nearby neighbor Winder, which is estimated at more than 10,000 people. McNabb says lack of sewer infrastructure has been the primary reason for the lack of growth in Bethlehem, but he says residents also enjoy the small-town lifestyle.
"It's not like all the the big cities. You don't have a bunch of kids in gangs or whatever just running up and down the street trying to tear up stuff," McNabb says.
The turn down Ga. 11 leads to the center of town, where the road becomes Christmas Avenue and begins to intersect with other biblically-named roads like Manger Avenue, Angel Street, Star Street and Joseph Street. The nativity theme runs deep through the town, which calls itself "the little town under the star."
The town's name comes from the Bethlehem First United Methodist Church, which has existed since the 1700s. Historical documents provided by the city say gospel writer Judson L. Moore suggested naming the community after the church.
Since then, the town's residents have embraced their Christmas theme. In fact, every year on December 22 and 23, a live nativity is on display in the park in the center of town on Shepherd Street.
"I want to say it's (been put on for) 52 years now," McNabb said. "It brings a lot of people from everywhere. We've had people, I know, coming through in a motor home and they'd pull up and park and get to wanting to see when it was going to start."
Another Christmas tradition that brings visitors to the town is at the post office, where people will travel to get their Christmas cards and letters stamped with the town's special postmark. Postmaster Calvin Mansfield says while the tradition means extra work for the post office, he enjoys being part of it.
"We actually receive letters from all over the state, some people actually come from out of state. Some people will actually mail me containers with their Christmas cards in them for us to do it for them," Mansfield said."It's really good. This is a process that's been going on for I'm really not sure how many years, but for years and I've been here the last three and it's just pride to continue the tradition of the Bethlehem post office."
McNabb says while it's nice to be one of the smaller communities in the region, he would like to see increased commercial development in the town. The largest employer in Bethlehem currently is Harrison Poultry. Beyond that, small family-run shops and gas stations are the only commercial activity found in the community.
Churches are also prevalent in the town, with Bethlehem First United Methodist being one of five Christian churches. Schools in the town are largely serviced by the Barrow County School System. Bethlehem Elementary School and Apalachee High School have Bethlehem addresses, despite being outside of the town's limits. A campus of the Athens-based Foothills Charter High School is in the town, and the private Bethlehem Christian Academy lies just north of the town on Ga. 11.
