The area that is now Bethel Park was originally settled around 1800 and was established as Bethel Township in 1886. It was named after Bethel Presbyterian Church, which in turn was named after the ancient Israelite sanctuary of Bethel. Bethel Park was incorporated as a borough on March 17, 1949, and became a home rule municipality in 1978.

The first armored car robbery in the U.S. occurred in Bethel Park on March 11, 1927, when a Brinks truck, heading towards the Coverdale Mine about a mile away was attacked. Paul Jaworski and Flatheads gang destroyed the road with dynamite to steal a mining payroll.

Bethel Park has seven borders, including Castle Shannon to the north, Whitehall to the north-northeast, Baldwin to the northeast, South Park to the east and southeast, Peters Township in Washington County to the south, Upper St. Clair to the west, and Mt. Lebanon to the north-northwest.

A portion of the area is underlain by the Pittsburgh Terminal No. 8 Mine (Cortis and others, 1975), which was commonly known as the "H" Mine and the Coverdale Mine. The mine opened around 1920. The historic operations of the Coverdale Mine are apparent on a Bridgeville 7.5-minute topographic map. A "Mine Dump" is shown adjacent to the Montour Railroad tracks and South Park Road. Coal was mined through vertical shafts accessing inclined slopes following the dip of the Pittsburgh coal seam. Mine voids in the inclined slope resulted from the practice of room and pillar mining during the early 20th century. The Coverdale Mine is closed and largely unflooded.