Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Bedford Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Bedford Township

26% of Bedford Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1948 on.

0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Bedford Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Bedford Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Bedford Township’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bedford Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bedford Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Bedford Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bedford Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Bedford Township is located in Wayne County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,065 and it contained 506 housing units.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,065 in 2010, 1,045 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Bedford Township on the map, 1948 to 1970

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bedford Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Bedford Township on the 1948 USGS mapBedford Township on the 1970 USGS map1948Flora sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bedford Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Bedford Township

Nobody well known was born in Bedford Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
William BorahAmerican politician · b. 1865
Harold A. GarmanUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1918
James V. HeidingerAmerican politician · b. 1882
Mad Man PondoAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1969
Roy ClippingerAmerican politician · b. 1886
V
Victoria Joyce ElyAmerican nurse · b. 1889
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Antioch SchoolschoolBedford SchoolschoolCarthage SchoolschoolGunion SchoolschoolMilner Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bedford Township
CisneStine

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Indian Prairie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLamard TownshipIts storyC−Keith TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townElm River TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bedford Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.