Bedford () is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in the

Estrie Estrie () is an administrative region of Quebec that comprises the Eastern Townships. ''Estrie'', a French neologism, was coined as a derivative of ''est'', "east". Originally settled by anglophones, today it is about 90 per cent francophone. Angl ...

region of southern

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 2,684. This small community is just an hour's drive from larger cities such as

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

History

The first settlers arrived in 1812.

Origin of the name

The name "Bedford" could have been given by

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

who knew of several Bedfords back in the former American colonies. The name could also have been a tribute to Lord John Russell, who was the fourth Duke of Bedford (1710–1771), an English politician and Secretary of State (1748–1751), and

governor general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

from 1756 to 1761.

Geography

Bedford is part of

Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality Brome-Missisquoi is a regional county municipality in the Estrie region of Quebec, Canada. It lies in the Eastern Townships area. The seat is Cowansville. In 2021, it was transferred to the Estrie region from Montérégie. In Parliament it is cov ...

, in the administrative region of

. The town, located southeast of Montreal, is completely enclaved within the township of Bedford. Seated in the

Saint-Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. "Laurel wreath, laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the Persecution of Christians, perse ...

lowlands, at the beginning of the steppe leading to the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

, the town is separated into north and south parts by the Pike River (Rivière aux Brochets).

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Bedford had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Parishes

*Roman Catholic Church *Saint Mitchels Parish *Le frontere Perish *The Anglican Parish of Bedford, Philipsburg and Farnham *United Church

Activities

Every year since 1828, at the beginning of August, the town holds its annual fair, the oldest of its kind in Quebec and the second oldest in Canada. One can

figure skate Figure skates are a type of ice skate used by figure skaters. The skates consist of a ''boot'' and a ''blade'' that is attached with screws to the sole of the boot. Inexpensive sets for recreational skaters are available, but most figure skaters pu ...

, or play

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

, at the ''Centre sportif''. Every year since 1969, Bedford has held a PeeWee hockey exchange with Kensington, PEI.

Schools

*École primaire et secondaire Monseigneur-Desranleau (French) *École primaire du Premier Envol (French) *Butler Elementary (English 1-7)

Notable people

* Georges Thurston (1951–2007) a.k.a. Boule Noire, R&B singer for 30 years. * {{Pietro L. Serapiglia (1956-), Award Winning IMAX Producer over 22 IMAX classic films www.stephenlow.com *

Pierre Paradis Pierre Paradis (born 16 July 1950) is a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec. He represented Brome-Missisquoi in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1980 to 2018. A member of the Liberal Party, he served as a cabinet minister in the ...

(1950-), Member of

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

for 25 years and former Cabinet Minister *

Marcellus Gilmore Edson Marcellus Gilmore Edson (February 7, 1849 – March 6, 1940) was a Canadian chemist and pharmacist. In 1884, he patented a way to make peanut paste, an early version of peanut butter. Biography Marcellus Gilmore Edson was born at Bedford in Q ...

(1849-1940), chemist who invented peanut butter. *

Chester Alan Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A ...

(1829-1886), 21st President of the United States

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{toponymie , 4594

External links

{{Commons category, Bedford, Quebec (city)
Official web site

{{Geographic location , title = Adjacent Municipal Subdivisions , Centre = Bedford (town) , North = Bedford (township) , Northeast = , East = Bedford (township) , Southeast = , South = Bedford (township) , Southwest = , West = Bedford (township) , Northwest =
{{Brome-Missisquoi RCM, state=expanded {{Authority control Cities and towns in Quebec Incorporated places in Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality