Bedford (town), New York

The town of Bedford was founded on December 23, 1680, when 22 Puritans from Stamford, Connecticut, purchased a tract of land three miles square known as the "Hopp Ground" from Chief Katonah and several other Native Americans for coats, blankets, wampum and cloth.[7]

Bedford was made a part of Connecticut in 1697 when a patent fixed the boundaries as a six-mile square. Only when King William III of England issued a royal decree in 1700 settling a boundary dispute did Bedford become part of New York.

The town served as the county seat of Westchester County during the American Revolutionary War after the Battle of White Plains, until Bedford was burned by the British in July 1779.[8][9] British forces led by Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton burned the town leaving only one structure standing in the town.[10] After the Revolution, Bedford was made one of two seats of county government, alternating with White Plains, until 1870. Westchester County's oldest government building is the Court House in Bedford village, which was built in 1787 and renovated in the 1960s.

Stepping Stones - Historic Home of Bill & Lois Wilson (respective cofounders of Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon Family Groups), Bedford Village Historic District, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Palmer-Lewis Estate and The Woodpile are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[11]

Aerial view of the town of Bedford along with neighboring towns of Mount Kisco, Bedford Hills and Katonah.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 39.4 square miles (102.1 km²), of which 37.2 square miles (96.3 km²) is land and 2.2 square miles (5.8 km²), or 5.70%, is water.[6] The town is bordered to the west by Mount Kisco and the town of New Castle, to the south by Armonk in the town of North Castle, to the north by Lewisboro and to the east by Pound Ridge.

The Cross River Reservoir is situated on the northern portion of the town. The town is part of the Croton River watershed. The northern portion of the Byram Lake Reservoir is situated on the southern limits of the town.

The Mianus River runs throughout the town of Bedford. The northernmost point of the river is also located in the town. The river originates in a series of small ponds in Armonk and flows north into the town of Bedford. The river flows north along Greenwich Road and begins to turn just south of the Bedford Village Town Park before crossing Greenwich Road. The river reaches its northernmost point at the entrance of Middle Patent Road. The river then runs south and enters the Mianus River Gorge Preserve which is located in the town of Bedford. The river flows south through the entirety of the Mianus River Gorge Preserve and eventually leaves the town and enters Stamford, Connecticut.[12]

The Town of Bedford's Hamlet of Katonah has a two significant National Historic Landmarks, which are "Stepping Stones - Historic Home of Bill & Lois Wilson" (home of the Alcoholics Anonymous co-founders; "Bill W.", who died in 1971 and "Lois W.", who died in 1988 and "John Jay Homestead", home of one of the United States Founding Fathers and first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Some minor landmarks are centered on Bedford Green in the Town of Bedford's Hamlet of "Bedford", a small patch of green space at the center of the Bedford Village Historic District (along Route 22), including the former court house, the oldest government building in Westchester County and now a museum. There is a small graveyard dating back to the founding of the town; the old one-room stone schoolhouse; and a few colonial-era houses, still lived in, which are kept painted white with black or green shutters.

Bedford Oak, July 2012

The Bedford Free Library is located in Bedford, on the Village Green and is a member of the Westchester Library System. Bedford Hills and Katonah are also members of the system.

Along Route 22, at Hook Road, there is a large 500-plus-year-old white oak known as the Bedford Oak.[13][14]

The Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women is located in the town.

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 18,133 people, 5,731 households and 4,395 families residing in the town. The population density was 486.9 people per square mile (188.0/km²). There were 6,020 housing units at an average density of 161.6 per square mile (62.4/km²). The racial/ethnic makeup of the town was 87.50% White, 7.12% Black, 1.98% Asian and 1.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.57% of the population. 0.09% ethnic Native American. 0.08% ethnic Pacific Islander and 1.88% from other ethnicities.

There were 5,731 households, out of which 41.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.5% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present and 23.3% were non-families. 18.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.4% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64 and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $100,053 and the median income for a family was $118,820. Males had a median income of $88,561 versus $47,468 for females. The per capita income for the town was $53,046. About 2.4% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.9% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those of age 65 or over.

The Record-Review, a weekly newspaper, reports on local issues in Bedford and Pound Ridge. The newspaper began publishing in 1995.

Bedford Magazine, a bi-monthly publication, began publication in the area in 2005. The magazine is distributed through qualified circulation for free to Bedford homeowners.

• Bedford Corners – A small hamlet neighboring the village of Mount Kisco in the southern part of town.
• Bedford Hills – A hamlet in the western part of the town, just south of Katonah. The historic Richard H. Mandel House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.[11]
• Bedford – A hamlet in the southeast part of the town, commonly known as Bedford Village. The Bedford Village Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[11]
• Katonah – A hamlet at the north town line.

• Town of Bedford official website
• Bedford Historical Society
• Bedford Town: Census 2000 Profile, from Westchester County website
• All About Bedford (Archived): Connecting Our Community - the most local of news sites on the Town of Bedford, its people and its schools