Bedford, Indiana, United States

🇺🇸 Bedford is a city in Shawswick Township, Lawrence County, Indiana, United States. The city is the county seat of Lawrence County. Bedford is the principal city of the Bedford, IN Micropolitan Statistical Area, which comprises all of Lawrence County.

History Bedford was laid out as a town and the county seat of Lawrence County, Indiana, United States around 1825. The original county seat was in Palestine, four miles to the south, but was moved, at the urging of the legislature, to a new location as the original location near the White River was deemed unhealthy because of malaria spread by mosquitoes. The new site was named Bedford at the suggestion of a prominent local businessman, Joseph Rawlins, who had relocated to the area from Bedford County, Tennessee. It incorporated as a town in 1864 and received its city charter in 1889. Bedford was a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Geography According to the 2010 census, Bedford has a total area of 12.16 square miles (31.49 km²), all land.

Government Bedford is governed by a mayor and city council. The city council is known as the Common Council, which consists of seven members. Five of the members are elected from individual districts while two are elected at-large. The mayor and clerk-treasurer are elected in a citywide vote.

Sport • Bedford Stonecutters (Bedford High School) 1890-1974 • Bedford North Lawrence Stars (High School) 1975–present

The Bedford North Lawrence High School is known for its basketball and golf programs. The boys' basketball team, captained by Damon Bailey, won a state title in 1990, Also Indiana All Star Cole Sinclair 2001, is the only other Indiana All Star from Bedford. The girls won state titles in 1983, 1991, 2013, 2014 and 2023. The boys' golf ranks third in Indiana in sectional championships with 20, and second in regionals with 7, having produced dozens of college players including PGA Tour Pro Craig Bowden. They have appeared in state finals many times and have numerous top five finishes. The BNL Boys Golf team holds the IHSAA record in all sports for most Finals trips without a championship with 27.

Limestone Bedford is known as the limestone capital of the world, and is surrounded by limestone quarries.

A common name for the light gray Indiana limestone quarried in south central Indiana is "Bedford limestone", or "Bedford Oolitic limestone".

Much of the limestone used in the construction of various Washington, D.C., monuments was quarried in the Bedford area.

Limestone from a nearby quarry, called the "Empire Quarry", was used to build the Empire State Building in New York City.

Bedford area limestone was also used in the construction of the Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church located in Merrillville, Indiana.

Bedford received $500,000 in grants from the federal government to build a ten-story replica of the Great Pyramid of Giza out of local limestone; however, the work was never completed, despite a further $125,000 being allocated to finish it. An 800-foot limestone replica of the Great Wall of China was also built. Construction took place in 1981 and cost $200,000. Construction on the main pyramid ceased in 1982.

Transportation • No Interstate highways are nearby; the closest is Interstate 69, approximately 20 miles (35 km) west. • U.S. Highway 50 goes through the heart of the city, connecting Bedford with Seymour to the east, and Vincennes to the west. Travel through Southern Indiana is often somewhat inconvenient, however, due to the hilly nature of the area. • State Road 37 connects Bedford to Bloomington to the north and Mitchell to the south. • Bedford was served by: Indiana Rail Road, via the former Monon Railroad line to Louisville, Kentucky, and on the Canadian Pacific Railway's former Milwaukee Road line to Terre Haute, Indiana with connections to Chicago. (The Canadian Pacific line was sold to the Indiana Rail Road, on July 1, 2006.)

Education The Bedford area has six elementary schools: Parkview Primary, Parkview Intermediate, Needmore Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Dollens Elementary, and Shawswick Elementary. There are two middle schools that feed into Bedford North Lawrence High School: Bedford Middle School (BMS) and Oolitic Middle School (OMS). The two private schools in the city are St. Vincent Catholic School and Stone City Christian Academy. Lawrence County Independent School was founded in 2021.

The town has a lending library, the Bedford Public Library.

Nearby points of interest • Bluespring Caverns • Nashville, Indiana • Spring Mill State Park • Avoca Park • West Baden Springs Hotel • The Bedford Courthouse Square Historic District, Indiana Limestone Company Building, Madden School, C.S. Norton Mansion, Otis Park and Golf Course, William A. Ragsdale House, and Zahn Historic District are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.