Bedford County is a United States county located in the

Piedmont region it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

of the Commonwealth of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is the town of

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

, which was an independent city from 1968 until rejoining the county in 2013. Bedford County was created in 1753 from parts of Lunenburg County, and several changes in alignment were made until the present borders were established in 1786. The county was named in honor of John Russell, an English statesman and fourth

Duke of Bedford Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first and second creations came in 1414 and 1433 respectively, in favour of Henry IV's third so ...

. Bedford County is part of the Lynchburg

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

. As of the 2020 census, Bedford's population was 79,462. The county population has more than doubled since 1980.

History

The Piedmont area had long been inhabited by

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

. At the time of European encounter, mostly

Siouan Siouan or Siouan–Catawban is a language family of North America that is located primarily in the Great Plains, Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east. Name Authors who call the enti ...

-speaking tribes lived in this area. Bedford County was established by European Americans on December 13, 1753 from parts of Lunenburg County. Later in 1756, a portion of

Albemarle County Albemarle County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, which is an independent city and enclave entirely surrounded by the county. Albemarle County is part of the Char ...

lying south of the James River was added. The county is named for John Russell, the fourth

, who was a Secretary of State of Great Britain. In 1782, Campbell County was formed from eastern Bedford County and the county seat was moved from New London to Liberty (now Bedford). Also in 1786, the portion of Bedford County south of the Staunton (Roanoke) River was taken with part of Henry County to form Franklin County. The town of Bedford became an

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

in 1968, and remained the county seat. On September 14, 2011, the Bedford City Council voted to transition into a town and end its

status. The supervisors of Bedford County also voted to accept the town of Bedford as part of the county when it lost city status. The town of Bedford once more became part of Bedford County on July 1, 2013.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.1%) is water.

Adjacent counties and city

Rockbridge County Rockbridge County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,650. Its county seat is the city of Lexington. Rockbridge County completely surrounds the ...

– north * Amherst County – northeast *

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...

– east (independent city) * Campbell County – southeast *

Pittsylvania County Pittsylvania County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 60,501. Chatham is the county seat. Pittsylvania County is included in the Danville, VA Micropolitan Statistical A ...

– south * Franklin County – southwest * Roanoke County – west *

Botetourt County Botetourt County ( ) is a US county that lies in the Roanoke Region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Located in the mountainous portion of the state, the county is bordered by two major ranges, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Mou ...

– northwest

National protected areas

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenand ...

(part) *

Jefferson National Forest The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests is an administrative entity combining two U.S. National Forests into one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States. The forests cover of land in the Appalachian Mountai ...

(part) *

James River Face Wilderness The James River Face Wilderness is an 8,907-acre area located near Natural Bridge, Virginia that is protected by the Eastern Wilderness Act of Congress to maintain its present, natural condition. As part of the National Wilderness Preservation ...

(part)

State Park

Smith Mountain Lake State Park Smith Mountain Lake State Park is a state park along the shores of Smith Mountain Lake in Bedford County, Virginia near Huddleston. It is primarily a recreational area, offering water-related activities as well as camping, picnicking, hiking f ...

Major highways

* * * * * *

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2000 Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 60,371 people, 23,838 households, and 18,164 families residing in the county. The population density was 80 people per square mile (31/km²). There were 26,841 housing units at an average density of 36 per square mile (14/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.18%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 6.24%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.20% Native American, 0.43%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.20% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.74% from two or more races. 0.74% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. 28.2% were of American, 15.6% English, 11.0%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and 9.6% Irish ancestry according to

Census 2000 The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

. There were 23,838 households, out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.40% were married couples living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.80% were non-families. 20.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.89. In the county, the population's age distribution was: 24.00% under the age of 18, 5.80% from 18 to 24, 29.90% from 25 to 44, 27.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 99.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $43,136, and the median income for a family was $49,303. Males had a median income of $35,117 versus $23,906 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,582. About 5.20% of families and 7.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.30% of those under age 18 and 10.50% of those age 65 or over.

2017

As of 2017, the largest self-reported ancestry groups were: *

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

- 16.5% *

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

- 14.3% *

- 13.3% *

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

- 11.3% *

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

- 3.0% * Scots-Irish - 2.7% * Scottish - 2.6%

Government

Board of Supervisors

*District 1: Mickey M. Johnson (R) *District 2: Edgar Tuck, Vice Chairman (I) *District 3: Charla Bansley (R) *District 4: John Sharp, Chairman (R) *District 5: Tommy W. Scott (R) *District 6: Bob W. Davis (R) *District 7: Tamara F. "Tammy" Parker (R)

Constitutional officers

*Clerk of the Circuit Court: Judy Reynolds (R) *Commissioner of the Revenue: Julie Creasy (R) *Commonwealth's Attorney: Wes Nance (R) *Sheriff: Michael Miller (R) *Treasurer: Kim Snow (R) Bedford County is represented by Republicans David R. Suetterlein (19th District) and Stephen D. "Steve" Newman (23rd District) in the Virginia Senate; Republicans Terry L. Austin (19th District), Kathy J. Byron (22nd District) and Wendell S. Walker (23rd District) in the Virginia House of Delegates; and Republicans

Bob Good Robert George Good (born September 11, 1965) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative in Virginia's 5th congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party. Early life and education Good was born in Wilkes-Barre, P ...

(VA 5th District) and

Ben Cline Benjamin Lee Cline (born February 29, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 6th congressional district since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he represented the 24th district ...

(VA 6th District) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Economy

Historically, Bedford County was an agricultural economy. While agriculture is still an important factor in the county's economy, Bedford County has significant residential development to serve Lynchburg, Roanoke, and

Smith Mountain Lake Smith Mountain Lake is a large reservoir in the Roanoke Region of Virginia, United States, located southeast of the City of Roanoke and southwest of Lynchburg. The lake was created in 1963 by the Smith Mountain Dam impounding the Roanoke River. ...

. Tourism and retail are also becoming more significant with some new industry near Forest and New London.

Politics

Bedford voted for George Wallace, an Independent, for President in 1968.

Attractions

Beale ciphers The Beale ciphers are a set of three ciphertexts, one of which allegedly states the location of a buried treasure of gold, silver and jewels estimated to be worth over US$43 million Comprising three ciphertexts, the first (unsolved) text de ...

, the key to a supposed treasure buried somewhere in the county and which has attracted treasure hunters since the 19th century *

National D-Day Memorial The National D-Day Memorial is a war memorial located in Bedford, Virginia. It serves as the national memorial for American D-Day veterans. However, its scope is international in that it states, "In Tribute to the valor, fidelity and sacrifice of ...

Peaks of Otter The Peaks of Otter are three mountain peaks in the Blue Ridge Mountains, overlooking the town of Bedford, Virginia, which lies nine miles (14 km) to the southeast along State Route 43. These peaks are Sharp Top, Flat Top, and Harkening Hill ...

Poplar Forest Poplar Forest is a plantation and plantation house in Forest, Bedford County, Virginia. Founding Father and third U.S. president Thomas Jefferson designed the plantation, and used the property as both a private retreat and a revenue-generating pl ...

* Bedford Museum & Genealogical Library

Communities

Town

Census-designated places

* Big Island *

Forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Moneta In Roman mythology, Moneta (Latin Monēta) was a title given to two separate goddesses: It was the name of the goddess of memory (identified with the Greek goddess Mnemosyne), and it was an epithet of Juno, called Juno Moneta (Latin Iūno Monē ...

* Montvale * Stewartsville

Other unincorporated communities

* Chamblissburg * Coleman Falls * Goode * Goodview * Hardy * Huddleston *

New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...

* Thaxton Some of these unincorporated areas have mailing addresses in Bedford town and Lynchburg.

Notable people

* Nicholas H. Cobbs (1796-1861), former Episcopal prelate, served as the first Bishop of Alabama. * Colonel Chaffin (1826 – April 1873), little person who toured the United States and was billed as the "Virginia Dwarf". *

Erik Estrada Henry Enrique Estrada (born March 16, 1949) is an American actor and police officer. He is known for his co-starring lead role as California Highway Patrol officer Francis (Frank) Llewelyn "Ponch" Poncherello in the police drama television series ...

(born March 16, 1949), an American actor, voice actor, and subsequent Bedford County deputy sheriff, known for his co-starring lead role in the police drama television series, ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The serie ...

'', which ran from 1977 to 1983. * Carl Overstreet, (1929-2015) first U2 pilot to fly over Soviet Air Space *

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

had a summer retreat in Bedford County called "

". * James P. Ownby (1845–1906), Illinois state representative; was born in Bedford County. *

Lacey Putney Lacey Edward Putney (June 27, 1928 – August 26, 2017) was an American politician. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from January 1962 until January 2014, making him the longest-serving member in the history of the Virginia Gene ...

was born and raised in Bedford County, VA. * Jerry Falwell Jr, former

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...

President, lives in Bedford County on a farm. *

Sam Sloan Samuel Howard Sloan (born September 7, 1944) is an American perennial candidate and former broker-dealer. In 1978, he won a case ''pro se'' before the United States Supreme Court, becoming the last non-lawyer to argue a case in front of the cou ...

, book publisher, lives in Bedford County and attended Boonsboro School Elementary School and High School in Bedford County

References

External links

*
Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce's websiteBedford County government's website
{{Coord, 37.31, -79.53, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-VA_source:UScensus1990 Virginia counties 1754 establishments in Virginia Counties on the James River (Virginia) Populated places established in 1754