Created on March 9, 1771, from part of Cumberland County. It was named for Fort Bedford that in turn had been named in 1759 for the Duke of Bedford. Bedford, the county seat, on the site of Fort Bedford, was incorporated as a borough on March 13, 1795.

     First entered by Virginians in 1728, the site that became Bedford Village was a connecting point along several Indian trails and settler paths. Its location continued to lie along Pennsylvania’s main East-West route until the opening of the Pennsylvania Railroad (1846); the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the 1940s placed it again on a main route. The original settlers included a large group of German descent. Rye, used often for whiskey, was the major crop until 1860, after which general farming prevailed. Dairy production flourished after 1930. One-third of the land is currently farmed. Bedford was President Washington’s headquarters during the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion, and U. S. Supreme Court justices planned their proslavery Dred Scott case decision at Bedford Springs Hotel. Bedford Springs was also President Buchanan’s summer residence.