The story so far
Bedford, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bedford yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 17,335 in 2010, 17,309 in 2020.
AHistory
History · Bedford
26% of Bedford’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #174 of 758 in New York. What drives it
11 places in town are on the National Register, among them 2 National Historic Landmarks and five historic districts with 154 buildings between them. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1955 on, and old-book passages.
11on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
Quick answers
About Bedford’s history
How historic is Bedford?
A
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 94% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Bedford’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bedford is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #174 of 758 in New York. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bedford’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194025.7% of homes (±3.9) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register11 listings, 184 historic buildings, 110 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 94%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 77%
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bedford’s 110 sits above most of its state (77% of New York towns have fewer) while its 184 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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.
A National Historic Landmark11 places on the National Register, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks.A historic districtThe Bedford Village Historic District takes in 80 historic buildings.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Bedford, and 5 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Bedford’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · On the National Register
11 listings protect 184 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 2 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier.
places listed
11
National Historic Landmarks
2
John Jay Homestead
historic buildings protected
184
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
John Jay Homestead
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark
Architectural styles listings
Gothic Revival2
Queen Anne2
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals2
Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals1
Dutch Colonial Revival1
Greek Revival1
★ LandmarkJohn Jay HomesteadBuilding
★ LandmarkBill and Lois Stepping Stones (Wilson House)Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals · Built 1920
Bedford Village Historic DistrictGreek Revival
Katonah Village Historic DistrictQueen Anne
MeresteadNeo-Georgian · Built 1850
The WoodpileGothic Revival
Richard H. Mandel HouseInternational Style
Palmer-Lewis EstateMid-19th Century
All 11 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Bedford’s post office has been open since 1797. Another post office, Bedford Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Bedford
Bedford Station
Katonah
Bedford Hills
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bedford CenterBedford Four CornersBedford HillsKatonahKatonah Ridge
Gone or out of use
La Roe Airportairport
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bedford
ChichesterHolmesUnionWilliams
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From the old history books
What they wrote about Bedford in 1918
Passages that mention Bedford, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of New Bedford1918 · page 120Read the page →
Read the text
Wirt Wing, Stephen Winslow, Zephaniah The town of New Bedford had been set off from Dartmouth and incorporated in 1787, and the first town meeting was held on March 21, in the Congregational meeting house. The town was divided into four districts, separated north and south by the harbor and river, and east and west by the highway beginning in the line between this town, east
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of New Bedford1918 · page 205Read the page →
Read the text
Several changes in the city charter were made in 1875, changes made necessary by the constantly increasing importance of New Bedford as a manufacturing city. The Citizens' National Bank was incorporated in 1875; the Fall River railroad was opened to travel on December 15 of the same year; and in the spring of 1876 the New Bedford railroad extended its tracks to the steamboat wharf to coimect with the steamship line to New York, which had been established in June, 1874, with the new steamers, "City of New Bedford" and "City of Fitchburg."
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, 1797 to 2012
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 18th century
- 1797Post officeThe Bedford post office opens
- 19th century
- 1848Post officeThe Bedford Station post office opens
- 1850BuiltMerestead is built
- 1852Post officeThe Katonah post office opens
- 1868
In the archiveOld Dutch Church, Sleepy Hollow, erected 1699 - Residence of A.B. Baylis Esqr., Bedford V… - 1872
In the archivePlate 77- Bedford. - Bedford Station. - Katanoh, Town of Bedford, N.Y. - Mount Kisco, Tow… - 20th century
- 1900
In the archiveBedford Academy built in 1807 used as public library since 1903 - 1910Post officeThe Bedford Station post office closes
- 1920BuiltBill and Lois Stepping Stones (Wilson House) is built
- 1923
BuiltSt. Luke's Episcopal Church is built - 1930
In the archiveMott B. Schmidt, residence in Bedford, New York. LOC gsc.5a01778 - 1955
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1981LandmarkJohn Jay Homestead named a National Historic Landmark
- 21st century
- 2012LandmarkBill and Lois Stepping Stones (Wilson House) named a National Historic Landmark
By decade
Bedford, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1860s–1900s5 items
1868
18681930s5 items
1930
1930
1930
19321940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
2010
2009On the map
Bedford on the map, 1955 to 1998
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bedford. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1955Mount Kisco sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bedford.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewOld Dutch Church, Sleepy Hollow, erected 1699 - Residence of A.B. Baylis Esqr., Bedford Village, N.Y. - 'Sunny Side' Fo…, 1868
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bedford’s page.
Retake this view · +15Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Bedford
Nobody well known was born in Bedford itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Help out
Finish Bedford’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Bedford’s history
How does Bedford rank for history?
Bedford is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #174 of 758 in New York. 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?
11 listings, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks: 6 buildings, among them the John Jay Homestead (a National Historic Landmark since 1981), and 5 historic districts with 154 contributing buildings. 184 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Bedford?
26% of Bedford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1963.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (11), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.