Welcome to Bethany Community Centre!

The Bethany Community Centre is still the hub of the area.
The Centre consists of a hall, kitchen, game's room and curling rink, which is now used for skating.

The hall is licensed for 172 people. It is a great facility to host weddings, family reunions, anniversaries, workshops, family weekends, etc. Local groups do catering as well. A lovely shelterbelt surrounds 8 acres of well-kept grounds - ideal for baseball and non-serviced camping! There are outdoor washrooms.

This area is also ideal for cross-country skiing and skidooing in the winter.

For rental information contact:
1. Lynne Betteridge 204-865-2244
2. Mail: Bethany Community Centre, Box 15, Bethany, MB R0J 1E0
3. Ken Woodcock at krwood@mb.sympatico.ca

A Brief History

The first settlers arrived in this district about 1879. Mr. Wm. George Yule, who filed his claim February 9, 1882, homesteaded the land that Bethany is built on. He later sold it to Mr. George Fotherby who then sold 40 acres to Canadian Northern Town Properties Co. Ltd.

The village was called Fotherby in the beginning, after the man who owned the land. Local legend tells us that a Rev. McLeod said it was such a pretty place, that it should be called Bethany, after the place in the Holy Land.

The railway siding was completed in 1903 and, soon after, the first passenger train arrived. The rail line is now part of the Trans Canada Trail. Through the years, Bethany boasted two elevators, stores, post office, blacksmith shop, four-room school, livery barn, bank, barbershop, pool room and garages. Bethany still has a garage with a licensed mechanic.

St. John's Memorial Anglican Church, built in 1917, is still attended for Sunday morning worship.

A community history book, "Our Story...A Legacy" Bethany and District
(including Empire and Westhope Districts),
was published in 2000 and is still available.

Cost: $85.00 Postage: $10.00 (in western Canada)

To order, contact: Ken Woodcock at krwood@mb.sympatico.ca