Historic Bedford, located in downtown Bedford, Ohio, is a terrific example of the power of small-town preservation. Bedford, which has been around for more than 190 years, may be a small town, but it has connections to a big history. Indeed, much of the history of the United States unfolded in smaller towns such as Bedford. Historic Bedford’s preservation success owes much to the hard work of the Bedford Historical Society (BHS) in safeguarding the town's historic buildings. The historical society’s work uses the town’s landmarks, including the Hezekiah Dunham House and Old Town Hall, to tell Bedford’s story. The survival of small-town history begins with small-town preservation.
Historic Bedford is just a small strip along Broadway Avenue, but that small strip is filled with much rich history. The first settlers arrived in 1813 in what became Bedford, which was given the temporary name of Township 6. It wasn’t until 1823 that Township 6 finally became a village, which was soon named Bedford. One of the most famous houses in Historic Bedford was the Hezekiah Dunham House, which was built in 1832. Four years later, Hezekiah Dunham and wife Clarissa signed a document that gave grant of the land in Lot No. 46 to the trustees of the Township of Bedford. With the land deeded by the Dunhams, residents of Bedford began to build houses, churches, businesses, the Old Town Hall, the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway depot. By the mid-19th century the village of Bedford quickly turned into a prosperous town where several illustrious historical events occurred.
Certainly, one of the most noteworthy moments in Bedford’s history was when President Abraham Lincoln stopped in the village on February 15, 1861, at the Wheeling & Lake Erie train depot. The newly elected president was on his way to Washington, D.C., for his inauguration and stopped in Bedford that day around 3:30 p.m. to greet the townspeople. According to an account by Bedford historian Dick Squire, “The train slowed as it neared the Bedford station. The tall figure of Mr. Lincoln emerged from the warmth of the coach and stood on the rear platform, acknowledging the cheering crowds.” Lincoln only spent a few minutes in town, but his presence turned those few minutes into a historic event.
In addition to Lincoln’s visit, the story of Julius Caesar Tibbs, the Strawberry Festival, and the Spirit of ’76 were other highlights in Bedford’s history. Julius Caesar Tibbs was born into slavery in Virginia in 1812. Tibbs escaped the plantation and was later found at the Burns Farm in Bedford. Bedford was known for its strong anti-slavery feelings, which is why the village became a stop along the Underground Railroad. There the Burns family gave Tibbs food and provided him with a place to stay on their farm. The Strawberry Festival is an annual festival, sponsored by the Bedford Historical Society. The festival was created in June of 1964 in hopes of raising funds for the Bedford Historical Society to use towards preserving historic buildings in Bedford. In another example, by 1976, as America celebrated its Bicentennial, the BHS made copies of the famous painting, “The Spirit of ‘76”, and even created items using the theme “Spirit of ‘76”. During this time many small towns were finding ways to contribute to the celebration of the Bicentennial. Historian M.J. Rymsza-Pawlowska states in her book History Comes Alive that, “…individual states were also preparing for 1976 and began to use their own regional histories to find relevance Bicentennial in ways that often diverged from the federal vision.” The Spirit of ’76 is an example of Bedford connecting to the nation’s history at one of the most important commemorative moments.
The importance of preserving small-town history begins with the small history that contributes to the town. Historic buildings are the physical markers of the town’s history, and these buildings become daily reminders of a place’s past. It is important to remember that preserving a town's historic building provides a sense of pride for the community. Although the businesses contributed to the growth of Bedford’s economy and history, the buildings that stood out the most must be the Hezekiah Dunham House and the Town Hall. Both buildings are listed in the National Register of Historic Places, but each contributes differently to the history of Historic Bedford. For example, in 1832 the Hezekiah Dunham House was built by one of Bedford’s earliest settlers, Hezekiah Dunham. While the Dunham House began to gain notoriety, the establishment and construction of the Town Hall started. By 1874, the Town Hall was finally complete and became the tallest structure among the local landmarks. The Town Hall was used for public meetings, speeches, lectures, and productions at the opera hall located inside of the Town Hall.
By the early 1970s, following the Historic Preservation Act of 1966, many small towns decided to preserve historic buildings. Bedford was no exception. The Dunham House became the first phase of a restoration project launched by the Bedford Historical Society. In order to accomplish restoration of the house, the Bedford Historical Society created a Restoration Fund Account (RFA) designated solely for preserving and restoring historic structures. With the RFA, the BHS fixed the Town Hall for $35,000 and turned the building into Town Hall Museum, which is filled with collections such as extensive forms of lighting, clothing and textiles, military uniforms, small arms, and assorted memorabilia. The museum also contains a library, archive, and became the home for the Bedford Historical Society. Along with the Town Hall the Dunham House was restored and used as a museum, which transport individuals to the mid-1800s with its period furniture and gorgeous stenciling. Although less commonly cited than Chagrin Falls and Hudson, Historic Bedford is a great example of a small town that used its small and big history to preserve building structures, and shine light on the importance of small-town preservation.
]]>Did you know that Abraham Lincoln visited Bedford, Ohio, via train? In February of 1861, the president-elect journeyed through Bedford on the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad (C&P) while on his way from Springfield, Illinois, his hometown, to Washington for his inauguration. The train carried Lincoln, his wife, and their three sons. As the train passed by the C&P depot, he waved from the platform of the train to welcoming residents. A few years later, in 1865, Lincoln made his way to his hometown from the Capitol, but this time he did not get out and wave. His funeral train made the 1,700-mile voyage back to Springfield, stopping in major cities like Baltimore and Cleveland for Americans to pay their respects to the fallen president.
The railroad industry brought many individuals to Bedford, including Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Warren G. Harding, and Herbert Hoover; these men and their families rode the C&P, which stopped in Bedford on the way to the developing city of Cleveland. Trains and railroads became an important industry, fueling the economic growth of many small suburbs, like Bedford, which is located about 12 miles southeast of Cleveland.
The Wheeling and Lake Erie Depot is the last standing historic railroad depot in Bedford. The Connotton Valley Railroad Company (bought by the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Company in 1899) built the depot in 1882 when it decided to expand its tracks through Bedford’s Public Square. The depot’s location in the Public Square, next to the 1874 Town Hall building was significant as it was at the center of the town’s economic activities. Throughout the years, this depot has fueled economic activity and development in Bedford.
The town began to adopt the role of a suburb during the time of “railroadization,” which was only reinforced with the 1882 opening of the Connotton Valley Railroad (CV) Depot. Trains and interurban streetcars, like the Akron, Bedford, and Cleveland (AB&C), created a direct route to Cleveland and areas of southern Ohio. Frequent schedules for passenger trains between Bedford and Cleveland were used to entice city dwellers to the suburbs. The Plain Dealer carried an advertisement for Bedford, claiming it to be the “most beautifully situated of all Cleveland’s suburbs—the healthiest town in Ohio to make a home—only twelve miles from the [Cleveland] Public Square, with the best of railroad facilities.” In addition to passengers, the railroads brought freight, including coal, to the town. The construction and subsequent use of this depot, as well as the C&P Depot, brought developers and new industries, like the Franklin Oil and Gas Co., to the developing area.
The depot is a characteristic late 19th century small town train station, transporting passengers and freight. Before being donated to the city, the depot had been used as storage space and offices from the train depot’s last use as a stop for passenger trains in July 16, 1938, to its donation in 1986. It furthermore embodies the evolution of railway companies. Built by the Connotton Valley Railroad, the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Company (WL&E), chartered to the Nickel Plate Road from December 1949 to 1964, and then served the Norfolk and Western Railway following yet another merger. In 1982, the Norfolk and Western became the Norfolk Southern Railway. The original lines of the WL&E were sold in June 1990 to a new railroad, which adopted the original name (WL&E) and still runs today.
The Norfolk Southern Railway Company, which owned the depot after many mergers, donated the building, 104 years old at that time, to the city in 1986. The City of Bedford, along with the help of the Bedford Historical Society and many of Bedford’s residents, began the restoration of the railway depot in 1986, completing it in 1989. The historical society intended it to be an annex of the museum, displaying railroad mementos from years of the depot’s use. For this project, the historical society and city relied on $85,000 in state grants, including the State of Ohio’s historic preservation grant, $12,000 in federal funding, and donations. Unlike other historic preservation sites, this railway depot was not restored to its original 1882 style, but to the 1920s era passenger station. Bedford’s Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Depot has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2004. Work has been continually done on the square since the 1980s to preserve the city’s history with the intention of furthering memories of the city’s past and creating a central cultural feature in Bedford.
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