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Bedford, Pennsylvania

Bedford, Pennsylvania
Borough
East Pitt Street in Bedford
East Pitt Street in Bedford
Bedford is located in Pennsylvania
Bedford
Bedford
Coordinates: 40°00′59″N 78°30′15″W / 40.01639°N 78.50417°W / 40.01639; -78.50417Coordinates: 40°00′59″N 78°30′15″W / 40.01639°N 78.50417°W / 40.01639; -78.50417
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
County Bedford County
Settled 1751
Laid out 1766
Incorporated March 13, 1795
Government
 • Mayor William "Bill" Leibfreid
Area
 • Total 1.11 sq mi (2.88 km2)
 • Land 1.08 sq mi (2.81 km2)
 • Water 0.03 sq mi (0.07 km2)
Elevation 1,614 ft (492 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 2,841
 • Density 2,618/sq mi (1,010.9/km2)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC)
Area code(s) 814
Local phone exchanges: 623, 624
School district Bedford Area School District
Website bedboro.com
Official name Bedford Village
Designated November 06, 1982

Bedford is a borough and the county seat of Bedford County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located 102 miles (164 km) west of Harrisburg, the state capital, and 107 miles (172 km) east of Pittsburgh. It is the county seat of Bedford County. Bedford's population was 2,841 at the 2010 census.

Growing up around Fort Bedford, which had been constructed near the trading post called Raystown, Bedford was settled about 1751 and laid out in 1766. Bedford was incorporated on March 13, 1795. For many years it was an important frontier military post. The Espy House in Bedford is notable for having been the headquarters of George Washington and his force of 13,000 while putting down the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794, which had started around the Jean Bonnet Tavern just west of Bedford.

In 1758 the British Army came to the vicinity of John Ray's trading post to set up Fort Bedford, named for the politically powerful Duke of Bedford in England. Some believe this is how the town later got its name. Fort Bedford was built as one of the many British Army stepping stones through the state leading to the forks of the Ohio River; the other side of the forks was dominated by Indians. The British used the fort to drive out the French to ensure the new continent would be British controlled. The fort was later a safe house for settlers escaping Indian raids. Fort Bedford was "liberated" ten years before the Revolution by American rebels, James Smith's Black Boys, and was the first fort taken from the British. The fort later collapsed; it was reconstructed in 1958.


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