Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1840.
Bradford dates its founding to 1793 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1840.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bradford’s history is told.
Peaked at 2,010 in 1850; 811 people lived here in 2020.
19 censuses, 1840–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bradford’s Wikipedia page.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveSouth Bradford (Village); Bradford (Township); Bradford Business Notices.; Bradford (Vill…
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyFrom Wikipedia’s history of Bradford.
The town was first settled circa 1793. The first settler was Daniel Taylor (1775 - December 3, 1851), who was interred in Sonora, N.Y. cemetery.
The town was formed from the town of Orange (then the town of Jersey) in Schuyler County in 1836.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Bradford, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Towanda borough was incorporated in the year 1828, and additions have since been made to it. It is the county seat of Bradford county, and one of the most flourishing and populous boroughs in Northern Pennsylvania. The Lehigh Valley railroad, the Towanda and Barclay railroad and the Sullivan and State Line railroads have stations in the borough. There are several large manufacturing establishments, giving employment to a large number of men. The borough is finely located upon the west bank of the Susquehanna, and co::tains a population of about four thousand inhabitants.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
easterly through Big Flats enters the town of Elmira, and passes through the center of the city of Elmira, thence southerly through the town of Southport, and along the eastern line of Ashland, enters and runs through the town of Chemung, and passes out of the county and state, into Bradford county Pennsylvania. The valley through which this river runs is one of the most fertile, productive and beautiful in the state of New York. . It was originally inhabited by Indians of the six nations, who occupied its productive lands,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Some of his company were doubtless his former parishioners, but the Jewetts lived in Bradford, one hundred miles from Rowley. Mr. Rogers may have gone to Bradford for the purpose of obtaining accessions to his company, or our ancestors may have heard of the intentions of the great minister and sought him out.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Third Generation 25 mentions : herself as being advanced in years to a great age : son Nathaniel Gage: son John Green of Bradford: daughters Elizabeth, wife of Samuel Palmer of Bradford: Mary, wife of Benjamin Thurston of Bradford. Joseph Jewett lived in Rowley, was made freeman July 9, 1684, and was Representative to the General Court for the years 1718 and 1719. He was active in town affairs and was a man of energy and character. He was a soldier in King Philip's War, serving first in Capt. Joseph Gardiner's Co. (of
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bradford. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bradford.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bradford’s page.
Retake this view · +15Bradford’s post office has been open since 1847. Another post office, South Bradford, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1793, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bradford’s post office opened in 1847, and the census of 1840 counted 1,547 people here.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (1), 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 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.
