Bedford County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,577. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

. The county is part of the Southwest region of the commonwealth.

History

18th century

According to historians in the 1930's, "in 1750, Robert MacRay, a Scots-Irish immigrant, opened the first trading post in Raystown (which is now Bedford) on the land that is now Bedford County." This information has since been proven incorrect. John Wray, the trader, established his trading post about two miles east of the site of Fort Bedford around 1740. The trading post, consisting of two or three buildings surrounded by a fence, was called a 'town'. The word 'town' was derived from the Old English 'Tun', which itself was derived from the Old German 'Zaun' meaning a fence or wall. John Wray was not Robert MacRay. The historian John H. P. Adams misread the Act erecting Bedford County out of Cumberland County, on which it was noted that Robert MacRay was one of the four men chosen to 'walk the boundary' and confirm the new county's boundary line. The name 'MacRay' is not a patrynomic of the name 'Wray' meaning that the two are distinct family names and not associated. John H. P. Adams' mistake has been perpetuated, unfortunately. It should also be noted that the claim has been made that the village of Bedford was originally the village of Raystown. That is incorrect. When Henry Bouquet brought the British Army of General John Forbes into the region, there existed no village on the bluff overlooking the Juniata River, about two miles west of John Wray's trading post. The early Anglo-American settlers had a difficult time dealing with raids from Native Americans. Native Americans became allied with the French in the North American theater of the war, known as the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

between those nations in Europe. The trading post of John Wray gave its name to the encampment made by the British Army under General john Forbes, but led in the field by Colonel Henry Bouquet. While Bouquet was having the fort constructed on the bluff overlooking the branch of the Juniata River, it was unnamed and Bouquet wrote all of his letters with some variations as from "camp near Raystown". The fort, has erroneously been said to have been named "Fort Raystown" but it was not named anything until it was named "Fort Bedford" prior to December 1758. In 1759, after the capture of

Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne ( , ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed ...

Allegheny County Allegheny County ( ) is a county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, after Philadelphia County. Its county seat and most populous city is Pit ...

, on the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, English colonists built a road between the fort (which was renamed as Fort Pitt) to the newly built

Fort Bedford Fort Bedford was a French and Indian War-era British military fortification located at the present site of Bedford, Pennsylvania. The fort was a star-shaped log fortress erected in the summer of 1758. Background Fort Bedford was constructed dur ...

Raystown Bedford is a borough, spa town, and the county seat of Bedford County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located west of Harrisburg, the state capital, and east of Pittsburgh. Bedford's population was 2,865 at the 2020 census. History ...

. The English defeated the French in the war and took over their territories in North America east of the Mississippi River. Treaties with the Indians opened more land for future peaceful settlement. This road followed and improved on ancient Indian trails. In later years it was widened and paved as "Forbes Road"; it is now Route 30. When the

Pennsylvania Turnpike The Pennsylvania Turnpike, sometimes shortened to Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike, is a controlled-access toll road which is operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in Pennsylvania. It runs for across the southern part of the st ...

was built, this interstate toll road became the main highway through Bedford County. Bedford County was created on March 9, 1771, from part of

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberl ...

and named in honor of Fort Bedford. The 1767

Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, sometimes referred to as Mason and Dixon's Line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia. It was Surveying, surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason ...

had stabilized the southern border with Maryland. In the aftermath of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, the population increased largely due to emigration. Within a lifetime Old Bedford County was greatly reduced from its original boundaries.

Huntingdon County Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

was created on September 20, 1787, mainly from the north part of Bedford County, plus an addition of territory on the east (Big Valley, Tuscarora Valley) from Cumberland County. Somerset County was created from part of Bedford County on April 17, 1795.

Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

was created on February 13, 1800, from parts of Huntingdon, Lycoming, Mifflin, and Northumberland counties. Cambria County was created on March 26, 1804, from parts of Bedford, Huntingdon, and Somerset Counties.

Blair County Blair County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 122,822. Its county seat is Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, Holli ...

was created on February 26, 1846, from parts of Huntingdon and Bedford Counties. Finally Fulton County was created on April 19, 1850, from part of Bedford County, setting the county at its current boundaries. The land was developed into lush farms with woodlands. It was developed as a trading center on the way to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and farther west of Pennsylvania. In 1794, President

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

came to the county in response to the

Whiskey Rebellion The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...

19th century

In the late 19th century, the

Bedford Springs Hotel The Omni Bedford Springs Resort & Spa is a resort hotel which is located outside of Bedford, Pennsylvania. Established in 1806, it is one of the last and best-preserved of 19th-century resort hotels based around mineral springs. The hotel was d ...

became an important site for wealthy vacationers. It was built near natural springs that had been important to the Native Americans for hundreds of years. During the administration of President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He also served as the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvan ...

, he moved much of his administration to the hotel, which became the informal summer

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. The

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

met at the hotel once. It was the only time that the high court met outside of the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

. During the late 19th century, the county had a population boom, with the number of people doubling between 1870 and 1890.

Railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

s constructed through the town connected the county with the

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

industry. The story of the Lost Children of the Alleghenies originates from

Blue Knob State Park Blue Knob State Park is a List of Pennsylvania state parks, Pennsylvania state park in Kimmel Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, Kimmel, Lincoln Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, Lincoln, and Pavia Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvan ...

in the county.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water. It has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfa''/''Dfb'') and average monthly temperatures in Bedford borough range from 28.1 °F in January to 72.0 °F in July. Bedford County is one of the 423 counties served by the

Appalachian Regional Commission The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a United States federal–state partnership that works with the people of Appalachia to create opportunities for self-sustaining economic development and improved quality of life. Congress established A ...

, and it is identified as part of "Greater Appalachia" by Colin Woodard in his book '' American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America''.

Features

Evitts Mountain Evitts Mountain is a stratigraphic ridge in the Ridge and Valley region of the Appalachian Mountains, located in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, and Allegany County, Maryland. Geography The ridge line runs north from Rocky Gap State Park in Ma ...

Morrison Cove Morrisons Cove (also referred to as Morrison Cove or Morrison's Cove), is an eroded anticlinal valley in Blair and Bedford counties of central Pennsylvania, United States, extending from Evitts Mountain near New Enterprise, north to the Frankstown ...

Tussey Mountain Tussey Mountain is a stratigraphy, stratigraphic ridge in central Pennsylvania, United States, trending east of the Bald Eagle Mountain, Bald Eagle, Brush Mountain (Blair County, Pennsylvania), Brush, Dunning Mountain, Dunning and Evitts Mountai ...

Blue Knob Blue Knob (elevation ) is a summit in the eastern United States with a broad dome that is the northernmost 3,000-footer in the Allegheny Mountains. It is the highest point in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. The mountain is the site of Blue Knob ...

, highest mountain in the county at approximately

Adjacent counties

(north) *

(northeast) * Fulton County (east) *

Allegany County, Maryland Allegany County is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 68,106. Its county seat is Cumberland, Maryland, Cumberland ...

(south) * Somerset County (west) * Cambria County (northwest)

Geology

Bedford County is situated along the western border of the Ridge and Valley

physiographic province physiographic province is a geographic region with a characteristic geomorphology, and often specific subsurface rock type or structural elements. The continents are subdivided into various physiographic provinces, each having a specific characte ...

, which is characterized by folded and faulted

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...

s of early to middle

Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...

age. The northwestern border of the county is approximately at the

Allegheny Front The Allegheny Front is the major southeast- or east-facing escarpment in the Allegheny Mountains in southern Pennsylvania, western Maryland, eastern West Virginia, and western Virginia. The Allegheny Front forms the boundary between the Ridge-an ...

, a geological boundary between the

Ridge and Valley The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands division. The physiographic province is divided into three sec ...

Province and the

Allegheny Plateau The Allegheny Plateau ( ) is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divided into the unglacia ...

(characterized by relatively flat-lying

s of late

age). The

stratigraphic record Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithostrati ...

of sedimentary rocks within the county spans from the Cambrian Warrior Formation to the Pennsylvanian

Conemaugh Group The Conemaugh Group is a Group (geology), geologic group in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Maryland. It preserves fossils dating back to the Carboniferous Period (geology), period. See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units i ...

(in the

Broad Top Broad Top is a plateau located in south-central Pennsylvania. It extends into Huntingdon County to the north, Fulton County to the southeast, and Bedford County to the southwest. It is bounded to the west by Saxton Mountain and Terrace Mounta ...

area). No

igneous Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial ...

metamorphic Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...

rocks of any kind exist within the county. The primary mountains within the county (From west to east: Wills, Evitts, Dunning, and Tussey mountains) extend from the southern border with

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

to the northeast into

, and are held up by the

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...

Tuscarora Formation The Silurian Tuscarora Formation — also known as Tuscarora Sandstone or Tuscarora Quartzite — is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia, US. Description The Tuscarora is a thin- to thick-bedded fine-gra ...

, made of

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

sandstone and conglomerate. Chestnut Ridge is a broad

anticline In structural geology, an anticline is a type of Fold (geology), fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest Bed (geology), beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex curve, c ...

held up by the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...

Ridgeley Member of the

Old Port Formation The Devonian Old Port Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, USA. Details of the type section and of stratigraphic nomenclature for this unit as used by the U.S. Geological Survey are available on-line at the National Geologic Map Da ...

, also made of

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

and conglomerate.

, located north of Breezewood, is a plateau of relatively flat-lying rocks that are stratigraphically higher, and thus younger (

Mississippian Mississippian may refer to: * Mississippian (geology), a subperiod of the Carboniferous period in the geologic timescale, roughly 360 to 325 million years ago * Mississippian cultures, a network of precontact cultures across the midwest and Easte ...

and

Pennsylvanian Pennsylvanian may refer to: * A person or thing from Pennsylvania * Pennsylvanian (geology) The Pennsylvanian ( , also known as Upper Carboniferous or Late Carboniferous) is, on the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS geologic timesc ...

), than most of the other rocks within the county (

Cambrian The Cambrian ( ) is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 51.95 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Ordov ...

through

). Broad Top extends into

to the north and Fulton County to the east. The Raystown Branch of the

Juniata River The Juniata River () is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed August 8, 2011 in central Pennsylvania. The river is ...

is the main drainage in the northern two-thirds of the county. The river flows to the east through the mountains within the county through several water gaps caused by a group of faults trending east–west through the central part of the county. The river then turns north and flows into

Raystown Lake Raystown Lake is a reservoir in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. It is the largest lake that is entirely within Pennsylvania. The original lake was built by the Simpson family of Huntingdon as a hydroelectric project. The current Raystown Lak ...

. The southern third of the county is drained by several tributaries of the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

. Both the Potomac and Juniata rivers are part of the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

Watershed. Several limestone quarries exist in Bedford County, most of which are owned and operated by New Enterprise Stone and Lime Company. Quarry locations include Ashcom, New Paris, Kilcoin, and Sproul. Two coal fields exist within Bedford County. One is the Broad Top Field in the northeastern corner of the county, and the other is the Georges Creek Field along the southwestern border. Both fields contain bituminous coal. There are abandoned mines in both areas and

acid mine drainage Acid mine drainage, acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD), or acid rock drainage (ARD) is the outflow of acidic water from metal mines and coal mines. Acid rock drainage occurs naturally within some environments as part of the rock weatherin ...

is an environmental problem in the Broad Top area, where several fishless streams exist as a result of the discharge from the abandoned mines.

Natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

fields and storage areas exist in southeastern Bedford County, primarily within folded

rocks south of Breezewood. Another deep gas field exists in the vicinity of

on the border with

to the north.

Law and government

County commissioners

*Mike Stiles, Chairman, Republican *JR Winck, Vice Chairman, Republican *Deb Baughman, Secretary, Democratic

Row Offices

*Ashlan Clark, District Attorney Republican *Wayne Emerick, Jr., Sheriff Republican *Melissa Cottle, Treasurer, Republican *Sheri Lowery, Prothonotary & Clerk of Courts, Republican *Russell Styer, Coroner, Republican *Alyssa Miller, Register of Wills & Recorder of Deeds (Acting), Republican *Carol Miller, Auditor, Republican *Mary Rowzer, Auditor, Republican *Robert Rolland, Auditor, Democratic

State senate

* Pat Stefano, Republican, Pennsylvania's 35th Senatorial District

State House of Representatives

* Jesse Topper, Republican, Pennsylvania's 78th Representative District

United States House of Representatives

John Joyce John Joyce or Johnny Joyce may refer to: * John Joyce (New Zealand politician) (1839–1899), New Zealand Member of Parliament (MP) * John Joyce (American politician) (born 1957), United States Representative * John Joye or Joyce, MP * Jack Joyce ...

, Republican,

Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district The 13th congressional district of Pennsylvania is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The district contains all of Adams, Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin, and Perry counties. ...

United States Senate

John Fetterman John Karl Fetterman ( ; born August 15, 1969) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2006 to 2019 as the mayor o ...

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Dave McCormick David Harold McCormick (born August 17, 1965) is an American politician, businessman, and former United States Army, Army officer serving since 2025 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senato ...

, Republican

Politics

Bedford County is overwhelmingly Republican, with that party winning the vote of nearly all presidential elections, recently by great margins. In 2016, 2020, and 2024, it was

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

’s second strongest county in Pennsylvania, only after neighboring Fulton County. The last time it voted for a Democrat in any election was in Bob Casey Jr.'s 2004 State Treasurer landslide. As of July 17, 2023, there were 32,287 registered voters in Bedford County. * Republican: 23,490 (72.75%) * Democratic: 5,851 (18.12%) * No Party Affiliation: 1,988 (6.16%) * Other: 958 (2.97%)

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 49,762 people, 20,233 households, and 14,251 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 23,954 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.5%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 0.3% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. 0.9% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 20,233 households, out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.90. In the county, the population was spread out, with 21.6% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.9 years. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males.

2020 census

Education

Public school districts

Bedford Area School District The Bedford Area School District is a small, rural public school district located in southcentral Pennsylvania. It serves the Boroughs of Bedford, Hyndman, Manns Choice and Rainsburg and Bedford Township, Colerain Township, Cumberland Va ...

Chestnut Ridge School District Chestnut Ridge School District is a school district in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, United States. Extracurriculars The district offers a variety of clubs, activities and sports. Sports The district funds: ; Var ...

* Claysburg-Kimmel School District (also in Blair County) *

Everett Area School District Everett Area School District is a small, rural, public school district in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. It serves a rural region and encompasses the borough of Everett and the townships of West Providence, East Providence, Monroe, Southamp ...

* Northern Bedford County School District * Tussey Mountain School District (also in Huntingdon County)

Public charter schools

* HOPE for Hyndman Charter School, Hyndman Pennsylvania resident students may also attend any of the Commonwealth's 13 public cyber charter schools which provide instruction via computers and the Internet.

Public vo-tech school

Bedford County Technical Center

Private schools

* Allegheny Valley Christian School, Schellsburg * Christian Light School, Bedford * Dry Hill Parochial School, Woodbury * Friends Cove Mennonite School, Bedford * Global Power Line Academy, Claysburg * Golden Rule School, Martinsburg * Learning Lamp at Everett, Everett * Little Learning Lamp * Lone Oak Mennonite School, New Enterprise * Noahs Ark Kindergarten, New Park *

Snake Spring Valley Christian Academy, Inc Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have skulls ...

, Everett * South Cove Parochial School, New Enterprise * Saint Thomas School, Bedford, Pennsylvania, Bedford * Sunny Slope School, Woodbury * Woodbury Mennonite School, Woodbury

Colleges or university

Allegany College of Maryland Allegany College of Maryland (or ACM) is a public community college in Cumberland, Maryland. It was previously known as Allegany Community College. The college was founded in 1961 and is accredited by the Middle State Commission on Higher Educati ...

campus in Everett As reported in ED Names and Places directory maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Education August 2015

Transportation

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Airports

Bedford County Airport is a public use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

in Bedford County. It is owned by the Bedford County Airport Authority and is located four nautical miles (7.4 km) north of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

of the borough of

Bedford, Pennsylvania Bedford is a borough, spa town, and the county seat of Bedford County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located west of Harrisburg, the state capital, and east of Pittsburgh. Bedford's population was 2,865 at the 2020 census. History ...

Recreation

There are three

Pennsylvania state parks , there are 124 state parks in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks, a division of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), is the governing body for all these parks, and directl ...

in Bedford County: *

, site of the Blue Knob All Seasons Resort * Shawnee State Park * Warriors Path State Park The largest borough-owned park in the county is a 77-acre community park in Everett, open to the public and available for events. Mid State Trail and

Great Eastern Trail The Great Eastern Trail is a network of hiking trails forming a long-distance route in the eastern United States. North of Georgia, the route runs parallel to, and slightly to the west of, the Appalachian Trail. As of 2022, it is still under dev ...

pass through Everett and Tenley Park. * Tenley Park

Communities

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities:

cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

townships A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

, and, in only one case ( Bloomsburg, Columbia County),

towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

. The following boroughs and townships are located in Bedford County:

Boroughs

(county seat) * Coaldale * Everett * Hopewell * Hyndman * Manns Choice * New Paris * Pleasantville * Rainsburg * St. Clairsville * Saxton * Schellsburg * Woodbury

Townships

* Bloomfield *

* Colerain *

Cumberland Valley The Cumberland Valley is a northern constituent valley of the Great Appalachian Valley, within the Atlantic Seaboard watershed in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The Appalachian Trail crosses through the valley. Geography The valley is bound t ...

* East Providence * East St. Clair *

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places Australia * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin Canada * Inukjuak, Quebec, or "Port H ...

* Hopewell * Juniata * Kimmel *

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

* Londonderry *

Mann Mann may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Mann'' (film), a 1999 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama * Mann (chess), a variant chess piece * ''Mann'' (magazine), a Norwegian magazine * Mann (rapper), Dijon Shariff Thames (born 19 ...

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

* Napier *

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

* Snake Spring * South Woodbury *

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

* West Providence * West St. Clair * Woodbury

Census-designated places

Defiance Defiance may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Defiance'' (1952 film), a Swedish drama film directed by Gustaf Molander * ''Defiance'' (1980 film), an American crime drama starring Jan-Michael Vincent * ''Defiance'' (2002 film), a ...

Earlston Earlston () is a civil parish and market town in the county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders. It is on the River Leader in Lauderdale, Scotland. Early history Earlston was historically called ''Arcioldun'' or ''Prospect Fort'', ...

* Stonerstown

Other communities

* Alumbank

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Bedford County. † ''county seat''

References

* "THE KERNEL OF GREATNESS: An Informal Bicentennial History of Bedford County (Pennsylvania)", by Bedford County Heritage Commission (Author), B/W Illus (Illustrator), 1971, ASIN B000KYDYOE

External links

* {{coord, 40.01, -78.49, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-PA_source:UScensus1990 1771 establishments in Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1771