Bedford, Massachusetts
Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°29′26″N 71°16′36″W / 42.49056, -71.27667
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Middlesex
Settled	1640
Incorporated	1729
Government
- Type	Open town meeting
- Town Administrator	Richard Reed
Area
- Total	13. Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This list of countries, arranged alphabetically The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The political units and divisions of the United States include The 50 states (four of these being officially styled as Commonwealths) which are typically The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. This is a list of Massachusetts counties, consisting of the 14 Massachusetts counties Middlesex County is a County located in the US state of Massachusetts. An Open town meeting is a form of municipal legislature typical in the New England region of the United States. In the council-manager form of government an elected city council (typically between five and 11 people is responsible for making Policy, passing Ordinances voting Appropriations Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. 9 sq mi (35. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. 9 km²)
- Land	13. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of 7 sq mi (35. 6 km²)
- Water	0. 1 sq mi (0. 3 km²)
Elevation	135 ft (41 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	12,595
- Density	916. The elevation of a Geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point often the mean sea level. A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 7/sq mi (353. 9/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01730
Area code(s)	339 / 781
FIPS code	25-04615
GNIS feature ID	0619395
Website: www.town.bedford.ma.us

Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The Eastern Time Zone ( ET) of the Western Hemisphere falls mostly along the east coast of North America and the west coast of South America UTC−5 is the Time offset used in the North American Eastern Time Zone during Standard time and in the North American Central Time Zone during Daylight saving time ( DST The Eastern Time Zone ( ET) of the Western Hemisphere falls mostly along the east coast of North America and the west coast of South America UTC−4 is the Time offset used in the Atlantic Standard Time Zone in Canada in winter and the North American Eastern Time Zone during A telephone numbering plan is a plan for allocating Telephone number ranges to countries regions areas and exchanges and to non-fixed telephone networks Area code 339 is an overlay of parts of Area code 781. It was added in 2001 to create more Telephone numbers Exchanges The following table Under the North American Numbering Plan for Telephone area codes, area code 781 covers suburban Boston, Massachusetts. Federal Information Processing Standards ( FIPS) are publicly announced standards developed by the United States Federal government for use by all non-military The Geographic Names Information System ( GNIS) is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout Middlesex County is a County located in the US state of Massachusetts. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the It is within the Greater Boston area, some 15 miles north-west of the city of Boston. Greater Boston is the area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts surrounding the city of Boston Massachusetts. The population of Bedford was 12,595 at the 2000 census.

History

The following compilation comes from Ellen Abrams (1999) based on information from Abram English Brown’s History of the Town of Bedford (1891), as well as other sources such as The Bedford Sampler Bicentennial Edition containing Daisy Pickman Oakley’s articles, Bedford Vital Records, New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Town Directories, and other publications from the Bedford Historical Society. :

Bedford was first settled in 1640 and was taken mostly from Billerica with some land added from Concord and Lexington when officially incorporated in 1729. Billerica (bɪlˈrɪkə is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States.

In 1630 came the arrival of John Winthrop and Thomas Dudley of the Massachusetts Bay Company. John Winthrop ( 12 January 1587/8 26 March 1649) led a group of English Puritans to the New World, joined The Massachusetts Bay Colony (sometimes called the Massachusetts Bay Company, for the institution that founded it was an English settlement on the east coast of North America Aboard the Arabella from Yarmouth, England, Winthrop and Dudley sailed, and after a difficult ten week voyage, they landed on the shores of the New World, with Salem and Boston Harbor being the Arabella's earliest destinations. For other uses see Yarmouth. Yarmouth is a Port and Civil parish in the western part of the Isle of Wight, The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth specifically the Americas and Australia. Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The Port of Boston is a major Seaport located in Boston Harbor and adjacent to the City of Boston. In 1637, the General Court of Massachusetts granted some 2,200 acres (9 km²) of land, including Huckins Farmland to the first residential Governor Winthrop and Deputy Governor Dudley. The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled The General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts The following year, the two men agreed to divide the land so that the parcel south of the two large boulders by the Concord River (Brothers Rocks) belonged to Governor Winthrop and north of the Rocks was to belong to Deputy Governor Dudley. For the river in Maine, see Concord River (Maine The Concord River is a tributary of the Merrimack River in eastern Later, Dudley became governor. Dudley’s son Rev. Samuel Dudley and Winthrop’s daughter Mary were married, thus Brothers Rocks were so named because of this marriage of families.

Governor Winthrop’s grandson, Fitz John Winthrop, in 1664, sold 1,200 acres (5 km²) of this land (including what is present day Huckins Farm) to Job Lane, a skilled artisan and house builder. Upon his death, he passed much of this land to his son, Col. John Lane in the 1690s. The land later passed to his son, Capt. John Lane, in 1714. John Lane and his wife, Catherine (Whiting), lived on the site, and after she died, he married Hannah Abbott. Upon his death in 1763, their son, Samuel Lane, inherited the land we know as Huckins Farm. Some time after Samuel Lane died in 1802, the house was removed and Peter Farmer built the present farmhouse in the 1840s. We know that Peter and Dorcas Farmer had two children in the late 1820s and 1830s. Later, Banfield succeeded Farmer as the owner.

Samuel W. Huckins, born in 1817, settled on the land about 1870. Huckins was respected for his good judgment and was honored with various offices in town. Maps circa 1875 indicate that what we know as Dudley Road was called Huckins Street. Samuel Huckins lived there until his death in 1892. He had a son, Henry, who was born in 1849, and was living in Bedford in 1910.

In the late 1800s, Dudley Leavitt Pickman and his wife, Ellen, fell in love with the land and bought a substantial parcel (mostly Winthrop’s land and a portion of Dudley’s grant). Included in this purchase was Huckins Farm. Pickman, a direct descendant of Winthrop and Dudley, bought the land without knowledge of the Winthrop-Dudley grant. He found out much later that he had purchased his ancestor’s land. The land was used as a dairy farm and apple orchard, in addition to the fields, pasture land, bog garden, and ponds. Chestnut trees lined the old road between the fields. Dudley Road had been named Chestnut Avenue around that time.

A large portion of the Pickman land, Huckins Farm, was sold to a developer for condominium development in 1987, and other parcels including the large Pickman house (Stearns Farm) were sold to private parties.

Due to its proximity to the intersections of Routes 128 and 3, Bedford, in recent decades, has seen an influx of high-technology companies, particularly along the Burlington border. Route 128, also known as the Yankee Division Highway (for the 26th Infantry Division) and originally the Circumferential Highway, is a partial Burlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States.

Historical Sites

Bedford Flag - First Battle Flag (1775).

Exterior, Unitarian Meeting House (1816).

Interior, Unitarian Meeting House.

The Bedford Flag

"By the rude bridge that arched the flood, their flag to April's breeze unfurled - here once the embattled farmers stood, and fired the shot hear round the world. " ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Bedford flag on display at the Bedford Free Public Library is the oldest known surviving intact flag in the United States. The Bedford Flag may be the oldest extant Battle flag of the American Revolution. It is celebrated for having been the first U. S. flag flown during the American Revolutionary War, as it is believed to have been carried by Nathaniel Page's outfit of Minutemen to the Old North Bridge in Concord for the Battle of Concord on April 19, 1775. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" Minutemen were members of teams of select men from the American colonial militia during the American Revolutionary War. Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. Events 1012 - Martyrdom of Alphege in Greenwich London. 1529 - At the Second Diet of Speyer Year 1775 ( MDCCLXXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a

The Latin motto on the flag, "Vince Aut Morire", means "Conquer or Die. "

The Two Brothers

When Governor Winthrop and his Deputy Thomas Dudley viewed their lands in early 1638, they decided to use two great stones on the site to divide the property. Winthrop claimed the land to one side of one rock; Dudley claimed the land on the other side of the other rock. They named the rocks "The Two Brothers. " Over the years, the two men had many differences; however they learned to work together and even considered themselves "brothers" by their children's marriage. The rocks have come to symbolize the men's sprit of cooperation and democracy. The two brothers can still be seen near the banks of the Concord River in the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.

Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

The early settlers called this area along the Concord River, "Great River Meadow" because they could harvest hay along the grass banks when the water retreated each summer. Today, this 12 mile stretch of freshwater wetlands is a sanctuary for migratory birds and wildlife. There are deer, cottontail rabbit, fox, raccoon, muskrat, beaver, weasel and over 200 species of birds seen here.

Job Lane House

This traditional saltbox-style home dates back to the early 1700s and was built by one of Bedford's earliest settlers, Job Lane. A master carpenter, Lane was also a town officer and a Minuteman. He was wounded in the battle of Lexington and Concord. The house and grounds adjacent to Huckins Farm was recently restored and is open to the public.

Fitch Tavern

Early on the morning of April 19, 1775, an alarm sounded warning the people of Bedford that British soldiers were marching from Boston to Concord. Their captain, Jonathan Willson, told them, "It is a cold breakfast boys, but we'll give them a hot dinner. " The Fitch Tavern is located in Bedford center, a little over a mile from Huckins Farm.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 13. The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title) is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census 9 square miles (35. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. 9 km²), of which, 13. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of 7 square miles (35. 6 km²) of it is land and 0. 1 square miles (0. 3 km²) of it (0. 94%) is water. Bedford is approximately 15 miles (24 km) away from the coast.

Bedford is a relatively circular town. Its neighbors, clockwise, starting from 12 o'clock, are: Billerica, Burlington, Lexington, Lincoln, Concord, and Carlisle. Billerica (bɪlˈrɪkə is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Burlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Lincoln is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Carlisle is a small rural affluent town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States.

In addition to the Concord River which forms part of the town's borders, the Shawsheen River flows through town. For the river in Maine, see Concord River (Maine The Concord River is a tributary of the Merrimack River in eastern The Shawsheen River is a tributary of the Merrimack River in northeast Massachusetts.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 12,595 people, 4,621 households, and 3,419 families residing in the town. A census is the procedure of acquiring information about every member of a given population The population density was 916. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 7 people per square mile (353. 9/km²). There were 4,708 housing units at an average density of 342. 7/sq mi (132. 3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 91. 19% White, 1. 65% African American, 0. 22% Native American, 5. 40% Asian, 0. 34% from other races, and 1. 19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1. 80% of the population.

There were 4,621 households out of which 34. 1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64. 4% were married couples living together, 7. NOTICE TO WOULD-BE ROMEOS ************** 3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26. 0% were non-families. 21. 8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10. 2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2. 60 and the average family size was 3. 04.

In the town the population was spread out with 23. 6% under the age of 18, 3. 9% from 18 to 24, 27. 8% from 25 to 44, 26. 3% from 45 to 64, and 18. 3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 99. 3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96. 3 males.

The median income for a family was $104,081, similar to its surrounding towns. Males had a median income of $65,697 versus $45,181 for females. The per capita income for the town was $41,212. Per capita income means how much each individual receives in monetary terms of the yearly income generated in the country About 1. 4% of families and 2. 5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3. The poverty threshold, or poverty line, is the minimum level of Income deemed necessary to achieve an adequate Standard of living in a given country 1% of those under age 18 and 4. 0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The town still uses an open town meeting as its legislature. A town meeting is a meeting where the population of an entire geographic area is invited to participate in a gathering often for a political administrative or legislative purpose A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation The executive branch consists of a Board of Selectmen who oversee a town Administrator. In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. The Board of Selectmen is commonly the executive arm of Town Governments in the New England region of the United States.

Bedford is the home of a Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP). The Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP initiative of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs provides mail order prescriptions to veterans using It is part of an initiative by the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide mail order prescriptions to veterans using computerization at strategic locations throughout the United States.

Education

Bedford's school system consists of four buildings: Lt. Eleazer Davis Elementary (K–2), Lt. Job Lane Elementary (3–5), John Glenn Middle School (6–8), and Bedford High School (9–12). Bedford High School may refer to Bedford High School (Bedford, England Bedford High School (Leigh, Greater Manchester England Some students from Hanscom Air Force Base, which is partially located in Bedford, join Bedford residents at Bedford High for 9th grade and beyond, or they go to Shawsheen Valley Technical High School which is in nearby Billerica. For the civil airport use of this facility see Hanscom Field Hanscom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located 5 mi SSW of Bedford Shawsheen Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School is located in Billerica Massachusetts. Billerica (bɪlˈrɪkə is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States.

The former Center School was deactivated in the 1980s. Center School is today the Town Center building. Page School was similarly deactivated in the 1980s and today is a retirement village. John Glenn Middle School (originally called Bedford Junior High School) is named for John Glenn, formerly the Superintendent of Schools in Bedford, not for the U. S. Senator and astronaut. The Davis and Lane (and former Page) schools are named for local officers who took part in the Battle of Concord on April 19, 1775. The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. Events 1012 - Martyrdom of Alphege in Greenwich London. 1529 - At the Second Diet of Speyer Year 1775 ( MDCCLXXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a

The high school mascot is the Buccaneer and the team colors are blue, white and black. This article refers to the type of pirate For other uses see Buccaneer (disambiguation The buccaneers were Pirates who attacked Bedford's school sports teams compete in the Dual County League. In 2005–06, the boys' basketball team won the DCL behind the strong play of DCL MVP Gerry Cohen. In 2006–07, the Bucs made the MIAA Division III North Sectional Final but lost to eventual state champion Watertown, 63–58. The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States.

Transportation

Bedford Depot Park at the end of the Minuteman Bikeway

Bedford is located slightly northwest of the intersection of I-95 (also known as MA-128) and MA-4/MA-225 (which actually cross in Lexington). The Minuteman Bikeway is a 10 Mile (16 km paved multi-use Rail trail located in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts. Interstate 95 is a highway 92 miles in length in the state of Massachusetts. Route 128, also known as the Yankee Division Highway (for the 26th Infantry Division) and originally the Circumferential Highway, is a partial Route 4 is a northwest-southeast State highway in Massachusetts. Route 225 is a northwest-southeast State highway in Massachusetts, which is signed as an east-west route Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Important roadways through town include US-3 (an expressway) and MA-62. An expressway is a Divided highway for high-speed traffic with at least partial Control of access. Route 62 is an east-west State highway in Massachusetts. From its western terminus at Route 32 and Route 122 in Barre, Route It is serviced by the 62 and 62/76 lines of the MBTA's bus service. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority ( MBTA) is "a body politic and corporate and a political subdivision" of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority operates a large number of Bus lines in the greater Boston area Bedford is also served by Hanscom Field (IATA: BED, ICAO: KBED), a civilian airport, which is located adjacent to Hanscom Air Force Base. For other uses see Bed (disambiguation. For the U S Air Force use of this facility see Hanscom Air Force Base Hanscom An IATA airport code, also known an IATA location identifier, IATA station code or simply a location identifier, is a three-letter code designating many The ICAO (ˌaɪˌkeɪˈoʊ Airport code or location indicator is a four-letter Alphanumeric Code designating each airport around An airport is a location where Aircraft such as airplanes, Helicopters and blimps take off and land For the civil airport use of this facility see Hanscom Field Hanscom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located 5 mi SSW of Bedford

A snowstorm on January 10, 1977, prompted the end of passenger service on the Lexington Branch of the Boston & Maine Railroad (see additional notes under Boston and Lowell Railroad). The Boston and Maine Railroad, also known by the abbreviation B&M, was the dominant Railroad of the northern New England region of the United The Boston and Lowell Railroad is a historic railroad that operated in Massachusetts. The line was embargoed four years later. In 1991, the branch was railbanked by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Rail trail is a term for a Trail that makes use of a railroad right-of-way (ROW. It is now used for the Minuteman Bikeway. The Minuteman Bikeway is a 10 Mile (16 km paved multi-use Rail trail located in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts. In the early 1900s, the Middlesex & Boston Street Railway line ran generally down Great Road (Route 62), with lines from as far west as Hudson running into Lexington and beyond. The Middlesex and Boston Street Railway (M&B was a streetcar and later Bus company in the area west of Boston Massachusetts. Route 62 is an east-west State highway in Massachusetts. From its western terminus at Route 32 and Route 122 in Barre, Route Hudson is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States.

Other historic transportation systems through Bedford included the narrow-gauge Billerica and Bedford Railroad and the Middlesex Turnpike. Rolling Stock See also Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad for later history of the right-of-way The Middlesex Turnpike was an early Turnpike between Cambridge and Tyngsborough Massachusetts and the New Hampshire border where it connected

References

Further reading

• Boston.com profile of Bedford
• 1871 Atlas of Massachusetts. by Wall & Gray. Map of Massachusetts. Map of Middlesex County.
• History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume 1 (A-H), Volume 2 (L-W) compiled by Samuel Adams Drake, published 1879 and 1880. 572 and 505 pages. Section on Bedford in Volume 2 page 241 by Josiah A. Stearns.
• History of the Town of Bedford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, by Abram English Brown, published 1891, 158 pages.

External links

• Town of Bedford official web site
• Bedford Chamber of Commerce
• Bedford Historical Society
• Bedford Depot Park
• Bedford Fire Department
• Bedford Public Schools
• Bedford Conservation Land Stewards
• Bedford Flag history on the town's site and information on seeing the flag at the Bedford Free Public Library
• Hanscom Air Force Base official web site
• Three Apples Storytelling Festival Annual storytelling festival in the fall