[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16317]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE TOWN OF BETHEL, CONNECTICUT ON ITS 150TH ANNIVERSARY

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                         HON. NANCY L. JOHNSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 18, 2005

  Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to 
the Town of Bethel, Connecticut on marking its 150th Anniversary, on 
July 16, 2005.
  The town of Bethel grew out of an active, well-organized parish in 
the eastern section of Danbury, Connecticut, officially incorporating 
into a township in 1855. The word Bethel, which means ``House of God'', 
got its name from the General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut 
when the parish of Bethel was organized in 1759. The name remained when 
the parish became a township 150 years ago.
  The history of Bethel is almost synonymous with the great showman 
P.T. Barnum--and, there's no denying that Barnum's presence can still 
be felt. Although it no longer stands, the Barnum bronze fountain, 
purchased by P. T. himself in Berlin, Germany for $7,500 stood in the 
town center surrounded by hat factories. But the fountain froze often, 
leading to its own demise. It was finally taken down in 1923. The 
Doughboy statue replaced the fountain in 1928.
  At one time Bethel was mainly a farming community, but beginning in 
the late 1700s, industrious entrepreneurs and hardworking citizens 
helped establish a very solid industrial base. Although the town's 
economy has transformed with time, the hardworking example of those 
generations is strong today in different businesses.
  Despite being overshadowed by the hatting industry in Danbury--from 
which it tried to break away from in 1759 and was officially 
incorporated in 1855--Bethel's economy once thrived on hatting. There 
were more than a dozen hat factories including the largest, the Edwin 
Short Hat Factory. The Opera House at 184-188 Greenwood Ave., now known 
as the Opera House cafe and restaurant, once housed a first-floor hat 
factory in the late 1800s. Hatting remained the town's main enterprise 
until the late 1960s.
  Today the Bethel Educational Park located between Judd Avenue and 
Plumtrees Road neatly packs in all the town's schools and playing 
fields. But throughout the town's history, tiny one-room schoolhouses 
and brick school buildings popped up here and there throughout town. 
Center School, an elementary school just off Greenwood Avenue in the 
center of town, opened in 1895 and is now used as town offices. Its 
twin structure, the Grassy Plain School on Grassy Plain Street is now 
used as a childcare center. The Plumtrees Schoolhouse, a little red 
one-room building, still stands on Plumtrees Road at Taylor Road. It 
was built in 1867 and attended by children in grades one through seven. 
In the late 1960s, it was no longer used as a school and today is a 
well-baby clinic.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the generations of hardworking 
people who have lived and worked in Bethel throughout its history. I 
rise today to honor Bethel, Connecticut, upon achieving its 150th 
Anniversary. I applaud the generations of Bethel citizens who have 
helped this town grow since its founding in 1759, and I commend today's 
Bethel residents for everything they do to make sure that this great 
town will continue strongly into the future.

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