Bedford, New Hampshire, United States

🇺🇸 Bedford is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. Bedford is a suburb of Manchester, New Hampshire's largest city.

History In 1733, the Province of Massachusetts Bay established Bedford as "Narragansett, No. 5" for the benefit of soldiers who fought against the Narragansett people in Rhode Island. The area was also known as "Souhegan East". The settlement was incorporated as "Bedford" in 1750, and was named for John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford. Lord Russell, a close friend of Governor Benning Wentworth, was the Secretary of State for the Southern Department from 1748 to 1751, and his first wife, Diana Spencer, was cousin to the influential Duke of Marlborough.

The first English settlers in Bedford were Robert and James Walker III. A monument dated 1737 stands on what is now known as Station Road (adjacent to Hawthorne Drive), marking the first settlement. Bedford's first moderator was Mayor John Goffe, son of the Colonel John Goffe after whom Goffstown was named.

In 1874, Bedford was served by the Concord Railroad, and service by the Manchester and Ashburnham Railroad was being planned.

Like much of south-eastern New Hampshire, Bedford grew rapidly in the second half of the 20th century. The 2000 population of 18,274 was over eight times the population in 1950 of 2,176. Every decade in that period had a substantial rate of growth, ranging from 33 percent between 1980 and 1990 to a 67 percent increase between 1950 and 1960. As of the 2020 census, Bedford was the 11th largest municipality in the state, with a population of 23,322.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 33.1 square miles (85.6 km²), of which 32.8 square miles (84.9 km²) are land and 0.3 square miles (0.7 km²) are water, comprising 0.85% of the town. The largest body of water other than the Merrimack River is Sebbins Pond, which is connected to smaller, neighboring bodies of water by Sebbins Brook.

A rock formation called Pulpit Rock (originally the Devil's Pulpit) is located in the north-west part of the town on New Boston Road and is the feature of the town-owned Pulpit Rock Conservation Area. The highest point in Bedford is Holbrook Hill, at 845 feet (258 m) above sea level, located in the extreme north-west corner of town. Bedford lies fully within the Merrimack River watershed.

Adjacent municipalities • Goffstown, New Hampshire (north) • Manchester, New Hampshire (east) • Merrimack, New Hampshire (south) • Amherst, New Hampshire (southwest) • New Boston, New Hampshire (west)

Transport Two major highways run through Bedford. The Everett Turnpike runs north-south, and Route 101 runs east-west. The segment of the Everett Turnpike north of NH 101 and the segment of NH 101 east of the Everett Turnpike are designated Interstate 293; I-293 turns at this interchange.

The portion of Route 101 in eastern Bedford is a freeway, while the majority of the route through Bedford and to the west is a surface road. US 3 and Route 114 also run through Bedford.

Manchester–Boston Regional Airport is one town away, in Manchester.

A proposed extension of the MBTA Commuter Rail's Lowell Line would see trains being extended to the neighboring city of Manchester, making stops at Nashua and Bedford along the way. The proposed Bedford/MHT station stop would be located in Bedford underneath the Raymond Wieczorek Drive Bridge, and is intended to serve both the town of Bedford and Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.

Government and politics Bedford is part of New Hampshire's 1st congressional district. Bedford is part of the Executive Council of New Hampshire's 4th district. In the State Senate, Bedford is part of New Hampshire's 9th State Senate district, currently represented by Republican Denise Ricciardi

Education There are six schools in Bedford: Memorial Elementary School (National Blue Ribbon School awardee in 2012), Peter Woodbury Elementary School, and Riddle Brook Elementary (National Blue Ribbon School awardee in 2017) are neighborhood elementary schools that serve grades K through 4. McKelvie Intermediate School accommodates grades 5 and 6. Ross A. Lurgio Middle School and Bedford High School have served grades 7–8 and 9–12, respectively, since their establishment in 2007.

Ross A. Lurgio Middle School and Bedford High School comprise one 300,000 sq ft (28,000 m²) building. The unified construction aimed to take advantage of economies of scale by allowing the schools to share a kitchen, an auditorium, and security guards, but they operate as separate schools with different entrances, bus schedules, start times and end times. Additionally, key-controlled access is required to move between schools.

A small number of athletic fields on the campus of Saint Anselm College are located in Bedford.

Previously Bedford had an agreement with the Manchester School District so that students were sent to Manchester West High School. In 2005 about 900 high school aged residents of Bedford attended Manchester West. Beginning in fall 2007 Bedford stopped sending new students to Manchester West, so it could instead send them to Bedford High. By fall 2009 Bedford no longer sent any levels to Manchester West.