A history of Bedford,
since 1751
Postcards, papers and photographs of Bedford from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The area around Bedford was inhabited by European traders during the late 1740s and early 1750s. Permanent settlers, however, did not arrive until after Forbes Road was constructed in 1758 to support the Forbes Expedition's campaign against Fort Duquesne.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Bedford’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
3 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewFort Bedford Inn, 1890: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Bedford
See all 20 →
Bedford, decade by decade
1990s
4 historic places in Bedford
Bedford has 4 listings on the National Register, and they protect 213 historic buildings, because Bedford Historic District alone counts 210. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier, which fewer than 3% of listings reach.
Where they are
Architectural styles
When they were listed
Listed 1978Barclay House
Listed 1979Russell House
Listed 1983Bedford Historic DistrictThen & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Fort Bedford Inn (1890) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (4) and the Library of Congress (8). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.