Bethlehem is located in the north-eastern Free State. The name, Bethlehem is has an uncertain origin, however, many of the early Afrkaans settlers had a strong Christian faith and perhaps they wanted to give this station a good Biblical name.  Interestingly enough the Hebrew name means "House of Bread" which is most appropriate as it relates to the fertile agricultural soil so distinctive of the area which produces 65% of the country's wheat crop.

Bethlehem has links to the Anglo-Boer War, as it was briefly the seat of the fugitive Free State Republic. Today the town is the largest commercial and industrial centre in the Eastern Free State.

Visitors can find out more about Bethlehem’s history at Baartman House, where exhibits of wagons and horse carriages, period furniture and farm implements give you an idea of the lifestyle of the people who ventured into the central parts of South Africa. There is another outstanding collection of exhibits including war memorabilia at the Museum of Cultural History housed in the former Nazareth Mission Church. The town contains some of the finest sandstone buildings in the country and many are now provincial heritage sites.