Satan’s Kingdom (Bethany)

Well, That Stinks
Historical/Apocryphal Satan’s Kingdom (Bethany)

Bethany is a rural town with a lot of horses. Parts of Bethany smell like horses. But that’s better than smelling like sulphur and hellfire and brimstone. Residents should be happy that the unnamed guy from the 18th century apparently didn’t wield superpowers.

First, let me explain why this page exists… years ago I found some list of Connecticut place-names that were Devil inspired. Satan sanctioned. Lucifer approved.

Everyone knows Satan’s Kingdom in New Hartford, but there are many, many more. Most are lost to history, so some are difficult to find and visit. In this case, apparently the whole of Bethany was dubbed Satan’s Kingdom by one nervous and tongue-tied deacon in one sermon once. Somewhere. In Bethany.

The account comes from engraver and historian John Warner Barber’s book called Views of Connecticut Towns, 1834-36. Copies are available online that you can search and find yourself. For our purposes today, we focus on this ridiculous passage:

The person who went by the name of Satan’s Kingdom was a deacon and Justice ofthe Peace. This ungracious name was given in consequence of an unfortunate mistake. The minister of the place being sick, the deacon was called upon to officiate in his stead, it being the custom in those days in the absence of the minister, for the deacon or some other principal person, to make a prayer in the pulpit and read some approved sermon. The time, place, and occasion, all probably tended to disturb that collection of thought in the mind of the deacon, which would be desirable on such occasions. Instead therefore, of praying that Satan’s Kingdom might be destroyed, as he intended, he prayed that Satan’s Kingdom might be established. A mistake of this kind, and on such an occasion, of course could not be easily forgotten.

John Warner Barber’s book featured his engravings, each of a specific locale in a Connecticut town. Barber’s book, Connecticut Historical Collections, was one of the first popular local histories in the US.

There’s some irony here, I guess, as Bethany (which wasn’t even Bethany back when this sermon supposedly happened) is named after the biblical town of Bethany. Towns don’t get much more biblical than this:

Bethany is a Palestinian town in Palestine, bordering East Jerusalem, in the West Bank. The Arabic place name al-Eizariya refers to the New Testament figure Lazarus of Bethany, who according to the Gospel of John, was raised from the dead by Jesus in the town. The traditional site of the miracle, the Tomb of Lazarus, in Bethany is a place of pilgrimage.

The town is located on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, less than 2 miles from Jerusalem.

Maybe Jesus has a special place in his heart for Connecticut Bethany and saved it from the Devil. Anyway, I read his entire Bethany entry and it is nothing more than a few more random stories like the above. I guess that made good reading in 1836… I’m not so sure how it hits as I write this page in 2026 though.

All things Satan in Connecticut