Place:Bedford (county), Virginia, United States


NameBedford (county)
Alt namesBedfordsource: USGS, GNIS Digital Gazetteer (1994) GNIS51034583
TypeCounty
Coordinates37.3°N 79.567°W
Located inVirginia, United States     (1754 - )
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Bedford County is a United States county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is the town of Bedford, 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.

Bedford County is part of the Lynchburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, Bedford's population was 79,462. The county population has more than doubled since 1980.

Contents

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The Piedmont area had long been inhabited by indigenous peoples. At the time of European encounter, mostly Siouan-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 lying south of the James River was added. The county is named for John Russell, the fourth Duke of Bedford, 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 in 1968, and remained the county seat. On September 14, 2011, the Bedford City Council voted to transition into a town and end its independent city 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.

Timeline

Date Event Source
1754 County formed Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1755 Court records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1755 Land records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1755 Marriage records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1755 Probate records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1790 First census Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
1853 Birth records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1980 No significant boundary changes after this year Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990

Population History

source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
Census Year Population
1790 10,531
1800 14,125
1810 16,148
1820 19,305
1830 20,246
1840 20,203
1850 24,080
1860 25,068
1870 25,327
1880 31,205
1890 31,213
1900 30,356
1910 29,549
1920 30,669
1930 29,091
1940 29,687
1950 29,627
1960 31,028
1970 26,728
1980 34,927
1990 45,656

Note: Bedford city, formed from Bedford County (1968).. Lynchburg city, formed from Campbell County; has annexed some territory from Bedford County. Annexations after 1970 from Campbell (1970 population 9,033) and Bedford (1,467).

Research Tips

List of County Records available on microfilm from Library of Virginia
Deed Book A1 was transcribed and abstracted by Ann Chilton of Roanoke, Virginia, in 1987. Copies may be ordered from Mountain Press of Signal Mountain, Tennessee.


This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Bedford County, Virginia. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.