 What is known is that prior to its formation, the land which would become Bethlehem was owned by Colonel John Armstrong, who had been the commander of Fort Finney (located in present-day Jeffersonville, Indiana).The first settlers arrived at the site in 1805 Armstrong and others, most notably Jonathon Clark and William Plaskett, platted the community in 1812.It was laid out in 124 lots in a rectangular manner.