Whence the name Bethel? We are frequently asked this question. Visitors notice how many landmarks around here are named Bethel Something (several roads, a school, a church, a cemetery) The answer was finally found in a 70-page booklet written in 1941 by John E. Smith called Bethel, Polk County, Oregon. According to Smith, "One of the earliest settlers in this vicinity was Rev. Glen O. Burnett who came to Oregon in 1846 and built his house half a mile or so north of the present location of Bethel school. To the heights eastward, he gave the name 'Bethel Hills,' Bethel being the name of the church in Missouri that he had recently served as pastor."

The property now known as Bethel Heights Vineyard was originally platted in 1909 and recorded under the name Bethel Heights Walnut Groves. A number of the original walnut trees are still flourishing around the edges of the vineyard.