One of the prominent early settlers of the borough was Henry "Gum" Nolf, who built the first store, grist-, and saw-mill. The town was first referred to as "Gumtown" in honor of Nolf, but subsequently was named "Bethlehem", and later "New Bethlehem" to distinguish it from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the eastern part of the state.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,057 people, 489 households, and 274 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,217.9 people per square mile. There were 575 housing units at an average density of 1,206.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the borough was 98.49% White, 0.76% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.09% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.57% of the population. There were 489 households, out of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.8% were non-families. 40.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.80. In the borough the population was spread out, with 19.0% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 26.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 81.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.4 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $25,069, and the median income for a family was $38,750. Males had a median income of $30,750 versus $20,469 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $17,796. About 13.9% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.
The city is home to an annual Peanut Butter Festival, celebrating its 23rd year in 2018. Though the town is home to the Smucker's peanut butter factory, the company does not sponsor the festival. However, the company does provide peanut butter for sale by the case or jar in a variety of flavors including Honey and Peanut Butter and Chocolate and Peanut Butter. J.M. Smucker also provided a $2,000 and $1,000 savings bond to the winner and first runner-up, respectively, of the Peanut Butter Festival Queen competition in 2018. The Peanut Butter Festival is a Redbank Valley Chamber of Commerce-sponsored event and is mainly set in the Gumtown Park.
Flood of 1996
On July 19, 1996, a flood hit New Bethlehem as well as other parts of Pennsylvania. Reports state that the Redbank Creek was over seven feet above flood stage, and much of the downtown area was underwater. Redbank Valley High School was shut down. It took a few months to clean and fix the damage until students were allowed to attend again. On a garage east of the Redbank Valley High School there is a line that shows how high the water level was at its highest point.
Redbank Valley Trail
New Bethlehem is one of the towns through which the passes. The trail extends 41 miles from the Allegheny River winding along the Redbank Creek to Brookville, Pennsylvania. The trail was chosen as Trail of the Year in 2014 by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The trail is built on a former rail corridor with the final train traveling through New Bethlehem on November 5, 2007, removing the tracks as it moved toward Brookville.
Education
New Bethlehem is home to the Redbank Valley School District and two of the districts school buildings, its baseball fields and football and soccer fields.
