Bethany can be found in Brooke County (Northern Region) placing it as part of the Steubenville-Weirton, Ohio-West Virginia metro area.
The city centers on Bethany College, a liberal arts school chartered in 1840 by Alexander Campbell, a leader of religious and educational reform in the 19th century.
The son of a Presbyterian minister, Campbell sailed from Scotland to the United States in 1809. He became the principal founder of one of the largest religious movements in the United States, from which developed the Christian Churches, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the Churches of Christ.
