The area around Bedford was inhabited by European traders during the late 1740s and early 1750s. Permanent settlers, however, did not arrive until after
Forbes Road was constructed in 1758 to support the
Forbes Expedition's campaign against
Fort Duquesne. In 1758, the
British Army under General John Forbes arrived at the location of John Ray's trading post to establish
Fort Bedford, which served as a supply depot along the line of fortifications between
Carlisle and the Forks of the
Allegheny River. The fort was named after John Russell, the 4th
Duke of Bedford. Some believe that the town later took its name from this fort. Fort Bedford was one of a series of British Army outposts leading west from Carlisle to the
Forks of the Ohio, which had been claimed by the French, who had constructed Fort Duquesne to control fur trading in the Ohio Valley and along the Mississippi River. During the
American Revolutionary War, Fort Bedford served as a refuge for settlers fleeing raids by Indigenous groups. There is a popular myth that Fort Bedford was captured by American rebels, James Smith's "
Black Boys," ten years before the American Revolution, making it the "first British fort to fall to American rebels." However, this claim is inaccurate. The British Army had already abandoned the fort in 1766, following the conclusion of
Pontiac's Rebellion, whereas Smith's raid occurred in 1769. During the raid, a group of men attacked a pack train, seizing weapons and other goods intended for trade. These men were imprisoned, prompting Smith and his followers to attack the fort, which was guarded only by local settlers. The attackers freed the prisoners and seized additional firearms before departing. In his memoirs, Smith sought to portray himself as a figure akin to Robin Hood. in 1766,
John Lukens laid out the village of Bedford, which was formally incorporated on March 13, 1795. Due to administrative issues, the town had to be re-incorporated in 1816. Fort Bedford eventually fell into ruin. In 1958, a structure modeled after one of the fort's blockhouses was built and now houses the Fort Bedford Museum. The original fort, which stood to the east of the museum, was not reconstructed. In 1794, President
George Washington mustered 13,000 Federal troops near Bedford to suppress the
Whiskey Rebellion, which was sparked by a tax on whiskey. The troops are believed to have assembled near
Jean Bonnet Tavern, four miles west of Bedford, while Washington himself used the Espy House in Bedford as his headquarters. The rebellion mainly involved farmers who argued that transporting
whiskey was more economically viable than transporting grain. The uprising escalated, leading Washington to act decisively to ensure that federal laws were upheld. One historian later remarked, "It was at Bedford that the new federal government was finally to establish itself as sovereign in its own time and place." During the 19th century, Bedford County became well known for its medicinal springs, leading to the development of three resorts: Bedford Springs, Chalybeate Springs, and White Sulphur Springs. The
Bedford Springs Resort, established in 1806 by Dr. John Anderson, became particularly popular for its "healing waters." The resort offered several types of
mineral springs and attracted visitors seeking cures for various ailments. President
James Buchanan used Bedford Springs as his "
summer White House," and it was there that he received the first trans-Atlantic cable message from
Queen Victoria on August 17, 1858. In 1855, the resort also hosted the only
U.S. Supreme Court hearing ever held outside of Washington, D.C. The
Chalybeate Springs Hotel was another prominent destination for affluent visitors during the 19th century. Notable guests of the Bedford Springs and Chalybeate Springs hotels included Presidents
William Henry Harrison,
James Polk,
Zachary Taylor,
Rutherford B. Hayes, and
Benjamin Harrison, as well as
Thaddeus Stevens and other notable figures.
U.S. Route 30, also known as the
Lincoln Highway, passes through Bedford. Prior to the opening of the
Pennsylvania Turnpike in 1940, U.S. Route 30 was the primary east-west route connecting
Philadelphia to the west. In 1927, a coffee pot-shaped building, originally a
diner, was constructed by David Koontz in Bedford. This unique landmark was relocated to the Bedford County Fairgrounds in 2003. The
Bedford Historic District was added to the
National Register of Historic Places in 1983. ==Geography==