Bradford is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Anderson County, located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. According to the

Handbook of Texas The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). History The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...

, the community had a population of 30 in 2000. It is located within the

Palestine, Texas Palestine ( ) is a city in and the seat of Anderson County in the U.S. state of Texas. It was named for Palestine, Illinois, by preacher Daniel Parker, who had migrated from that town. The city had a 2020 U.S. census population of 18,544, mak ...

micropolitan area.

History

Bradford was first settled around 1879. A post office was established at Bradford in 1882 and remained in operation until 1907. It is thought to be named for B.L. Bradford, the community's first postmaster. A

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

church, a general store, and steam-powered

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...

s and

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

s were in the settlement in 1884 and had a population of 150 inhabitants. In 1896, the settlement reached its population zenith of 200 and brothers J.B. and D.D. Hanks established a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

and gin in the early 1900s. It began to fade soon afterward. It had 125 inhabitants in 1900, which then plunged to about 20 settlers by 1933. There was a factory, another unknown business, and an unknown number of homes scattered along the road in the 1930s. The population increased to 50 in the mid-1940s. It lost half of its population by 1949 and it only had 22 residents from 1974 to 1990. It had a business, a cemetery, and several homes in 1985. It had 30 inhabitants in 2000. The town's only business, Bradford Cafe, formerly Walls General Store, burned to the ground on September 18, 2017.Bradford Cafe destroyed by fire Monday, Athens Daily Review, Sep 19, 2017.
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Geography

Bradford stands at the junction of Farm to Market Road 837 and

Texas State Highway 19 State Highway 19 (SH 19) is a state highway in Texas runs from Huntsville to Paris in east Texas. Route description SH 19 begins at an interchange with Interstate 45 in southeast Huntsville. The highway runs through the eastern edge of the ...

, northwest of

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

in northwestern Anderson County.

Education

Bradford had its own school in 1884. Today the community is served by the

Cayuga Independent School District Cayuga Independent School District is a public school district based in Cayuga, Texas (USA) in unincorporated Anderson County, Texas (USA). In 2009, the school district was rated " recognized" by the Texas Education Agency. Schools Located i ...

Notable natives

* Kolby Cooper, country music singer-songwriter

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Anderson County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas