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History · Bradford

Bradford’s post office opened in 1911, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register.

1911first post office
1on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
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Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ. M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Bradford began

When was Bradford founded?

1911

The Bradford post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,457115 years
Founding year: the first Bradford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Bradford’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 Bradford are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bradford’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bradford’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

Bradford, in brief

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

Bradford is a census-designated place (CDP) and historic district in the towns of Westerly and Hopkinton in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bradford had a population of 1,457. The Bradford Village Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 as a 224-acre (91 ha) area including 149 contributing buildings, one other contributing site, and one other contributing structure. The CDP as defined by the United States Census Bureau is located only in Westerly. Bradford was named for Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.

Its first post office opened in 1911. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,406 to 1,457 (+4%).

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

By decade

Bradford, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Bradford Quarry branch right of way, October 20202020Bradford Quarry branch right of way, October 2020BRADFORD VILLAGE HISTORIC DISTRICT, WASHINGTON COUNTY, RI2016BRADFORD VILLAGE HISTORIC DISTRICT, WASHINGTON COUNTY…Untitled photo2016Untitled photoPost Office2013Post OfficeNiantic Baptist Church2013Niantic Baptist ChurchBeech Pond Gallery2013Beech Pond Gallery
On the National Register

1 listing protects 149 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
149
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Westerly14 historic placesA+Hopkinton4 historic placesACharlestown7 historic placesC+

Questions about Bradford’s history

What year was Bradford founded?

The Bradford post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 Wikimedia Commons (6). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.