Bedford’s post office opened in 1825, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #45 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
10 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 243 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: the first Bedford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1864.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bedford’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bedford is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #45 of 593 in Indiana. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bedford’s overall grade.
Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bedford’s 180 sits above most of its state (86% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 249 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1864.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Bedford’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Bedford, building by building, 1886–1922
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Bedford was laid out as a town and the county seat of Lawrence County, Indiana, United States in 1825. The original county seat was in Palestine, four miles to the south, but was moved, at the urging of the legislature, to a new location as the original location near the White River was deemed unhealthy because of malaria spread by mosquitoes. The new site was named Bedford at the suggestion of a prominent local businessman, Joseph Rawlins, who had relocated to the area from Bedford County, Tennessee. It incorporated as a town in 1864 and received its city charter in 1889. Bedford was a stop on the Underground Railroad.
of the West End Street Railway Company, now the Boston Elevated Railroad Company, at one of the company's power plants. He only remained in Boston until March, 1897, then became an employee of the New Bedford Gas and Edison Light Company, at their electric light station, as an electrician. A period of twenty years has elapsed since he first came to New Bedford, and in that time the company has expanded and added greatly to their equipment and plant, the year igi6 alone adding the New Bedford and Onset Street Railway Company as a user of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present1886Read the page →
Read the text
Fairfield, fourteen miles northeast from Slielbyville, in the First and Second Districts is one of the oldest towns in Bedford Count}’. The town lies on both sides of Garrison Fork of Duck River, which stream is spanned by a large bridge at the town, and is distant from Wartrace four and a half miles and from Bellbuckle five miles. The land upon which the town was founded was owned by Dr. J. L. Armstrong aud Henry Davis; that on the west side of the creek belonged to Dr. Armstrong and was called Petersburg; that on the east side by Mr. Davis and was called Fairfield. The two towns were laid off into lots, aud the lots were sold some time in 1880. From 1835 to about 1850 Fairfield (the name of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Conveyance by Sir John Rotherham of Someries in the parish of Luton, county Bedford, knight, Sir Thomas Rotherham of Someries aforesaid, knight, and Sir Robert Payne of Medlow, county Huntingdon, knight, to Francis Crawley of Bedford, esquire, and Thomas Crawley of the parish of Luton, father of the said Francis, of one house called the Court House, and one orchard adjoining thereunto, and one
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Entering the postal service at the age of eighteen, Mr. McAvoy as clerk, carrier and assistant postmaster reviews a connection of more than twenty-seven years with the New Bedford post office, his service beginning when the post office was located in the United States Custom House building, continuing through the occupancy of the specially constructed post office building on the southeast corner of Acushnet avenue and William street, 1893-1915, and the period spent in the present building, completed in 191 5. This long period of service lends dignity to the position
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Bedford, 1825 to 1934
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Bedford post office opened in 1825, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1864.
How does Bedford rank for history?
Bedford is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #45 of 593 in Indiana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Bedford?
10 listings: 5 buildings, among them the C. S. Norton Mansion (listed 1976, the first), 4 historic districts with 243 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 249 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Bedford?
36% of Bedford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1955.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (10), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1909
1909
2007
