Welcome to Bethany Beach! This part of the Delaware Beaches holds a special place in people’s hearts for it’s peaceful, more serene lifestyle. It is beloved by families summer after summer, as a place to relax and enjoy fun-loving diversions. As soon as you settle into your beach house or hotel, your worries and cares melt away. Bethany is the perfect place for extended family gatherings, who find joy with the simple pleasures of sunning and playing on the beach. You can fill your days with sitting on the decks with the warm summer breezes, or shop tax fee at the shops on the Boardwalk or around town. There are wonderful events to enjoy throughout the year. The summer has Free Movies at Bethany Beach every Monday evening. There is Free Music at the Bethany Beach Bandstand every Thursday evening throughout the summer and every Saturday evening in September and October. They have the Annual Bethany Beach Boardwalk Arts Festival the Saturday after Labor Day in September. You can enjoy Live entertainment, Trivia Nights and much more at the local restaurants throughout the year!
The town of Bethany was founded in 1901 for a seaside assembly for the Disciples of Christ of Washington D.C. Before this, in 1873, the US Government formed the US Lifesaving Service because of the numerous shipwrecks along the Delmarva Coast. These stations were established because people know as “Moon Spinners” would attack ships that were foundered and would kill and kidnap the passengers and plunder the cargo. In the early 1900’s, Bethany Beach became known to residents and visitors as the “Quiet Years.” Despite the plans of the town’s founders to build one, no railroad ever came to Bethany Beach. Throughout the Quiet Years, it was unusual to find more than 20 people on Bethany Beach’s wide beach at any one time. Since Bethany Beach originated as a Christian community, it also tended to favor a quieter lifestyle. For example, the religious nature of Bethany Beach was expressed through the prohibition of non-religious activities on Sunday, although swimming in the ocean was permitted on Sundays between 3:00 and 6:00 pm. Even though Bethany Beach has become more secular in the past years, it retains its “Quiet Resort” reputation to this day.
