Bethany, Nebraska

In 1889, Nebraska Christian University was established east of University Place, a town east of Lincoln centered around Nebraska Wesleyan University.[2] The town was incorporated as Bethany Heights in 1890 and the college was renamed Cotner College.[2] The town was named after the biblical village of Bethany, Palestine.[3]

Bethany Heights did not enjoy the same success as Lincoln's other satellite communities.[4] In 1920, Bethany Heights reported a population of 1,078.[4] By comparison, University Place and College View, two other suburbs centered around religious colleges, reported populations of over 4,000 and 2,200 respectively.[4] Havelock, a suburb near Bethany, reported 3,600 residents in 1920.[4] Residents of Bethany Heights relied upon Lincoln for most services, including hospitals, lawyers, doctors, train depots, hotels, dry goods, and even cemeteries.[4] Due to this reliance, the town voted to be annexed as Bethany by the city of Lincoln in 1922.[2] However, the annexation did not come into effect until 1926 because its neighbor, University Place, had to be annexed first in order to create contiguous city limits.[2]

Unlike other Lincoln suburbs, such as Havelock, University Place, and College View, very little remains of the original town.[4] Cotner College was demolished in the early 1950s and the land on which it stood was divided into single-family residential lots.[4] The First State Bank of Bethany Heights is one of few landmarks from the original town and is not closely associated with the college or the town's foundation.[4]

• Neighborhoods in Lincoln, Nebraska
• Union College (Nebraska)
• College View, Nebraska
• University of Nebraska–Lincoln