Bedford County by Ned Frear
(44 pages) This book is available for $10 at the Bedford County Visitors Bureau office or by mail order (see prices below).

A brief and selective history, for the casual reader, featuring some of the stirring events and notable character in Bedford County's lively past: George Washington, James Smith and his Black Boys, Indian Eve, Davey Lewis the robber, The lustrous history of the Bedford Springs, and the story of The Lost Children of the Alleghenies.
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The Bedford SpringsThe Bedford Springs by Ned Frear
This book is available for $15 at the Bedford County Visitors Bureau office or by mail order (see prices below).

A mile south of Bedford, the grand old hotel represented a different world, visited by the famous, the powerful, the wealthy. The Bedford Springs, for most of its two centuries, was a peaceful, hospitable sanctuary for visitors, particularly the politicians. Soon after it opened, the Springs began to attract prominent national figures. Aaron Burr, John C. Calhoun, Daniel Webster. Presidents Harrison, Polk and Taylor. And, of course, James Buchanan, year after year; forty years in all. It was all due to the magical qualities of the waters, and the promotion of the founding doctors. This grand hotel was restored and reopened the Summer of 2007.
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Davey Lewis by Ned Frear
(63 pages) This book is available for $10 at the Bedford County Visitors Bureau office or by mail order (see prices below).

In a tavern near Bedford, in late 1815, a handsome stranger whose real name was Davey Lewis lost a back-room discussion with the sheriff, and was taken to court. Until then, he had been a free-wheeling, fast-talking operator in several states and in Canada. But in Bedford, he was sentenced to the penitentiary. He was let out of jail, and boasted no jail could hold him. But he couldn't stay out of jail. Three times, he would be brought to Bedford ... and three times, he escaped. Citizens let him out, other citizens brought him in. Big money was involved, but it never surfaced. And the handsome young robber, counterfeiter, gang leader died on the run, shot down by a gang of angry young men like himself. His arm ruined, his life threatened by gangrene, he refused amputation, and died in jail.

Davey Lewis' life tells much about the mores and aspirations of his time. He was a man of boldness, invention, courage, audacity --- but a man who couldn't resist temptation.

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Famous Names by Ned Frear
(76 pages) This book is available for $10 at the Bedford County Visitors Bureau office or by mail order (see prices below).

Out of the mists of English history, the name of Bedford emerges. It is the name of a succession of powerful Dukes, one the tormentor of Joan of Arc, another the prop for king George III. In this name, a fort rises in the Pennsylvania wilderness, and a village endures to attract an uncommon community of families. Their relations and connections begin the list of famous names. The Bedford Springs brings more. Some come with the armies, some for adventure. Many are politicians. And some are native sons, gone out to make their names, Bedford, through its famous names, is common to many books of American History.
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Fires of Bedford County by Ned Frear
(82 pages) This book is available for $10 at the Bedford County Visitors Bureau office or by mail order (see prices below).

The fire fiend, often striking in the dead of night, brought terror and panic and devastation through the generations. All too often, it rode high winds and laughed at pathetic streams of water. It destroyed large buildings, whole communities. Citizens urged their men to unite as fire companies, to be prepared. Equipment was bought, a building provided. Brave men stood ready, but fire found ways to defeat them. This is the record of major fires, and fortunately for most towns --- Bedford, Everett, Saxton, Schellsburg --- they were always stopped. Our communities and their treasured antiquity have been preserved. ... Nearly all of this book is taken from the pages of the Bedford Gazette, and is the story of brave men fighting fires. They are stories which deserve to be remembered in times to come.
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Fort Bedford by Ned Frear
(64 pages) This book is available for $10 at the Bedford County Visitors Bureau office or by mail order (see prices below).

Into the frontier in western Pennsylvania came the British Army in 1758 to establish a fort at Raystown called Fort Bedford, for the politically powerful Duke of Bedford. It was to be one of a series of stepping stones through the howling wilderness to the forks of the Ohio. With these forts, the British drove out the French, to ensure English-speaking dominance of the continent. Fort Bedford's mission was quickly done. In its few remaining years, before it collapsed, it would serve as a haven for settlers during Indian raids. And it would be "liberated" by American rebels, nearly ten years before the Revolution. Fort Bedford, above all, was a symbol of British resolve to fight for the continent, to move across these mountains, to take possession of America.
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I Remember My Childhood in Bedford Pennsylvania by Winona Garbrick
(76 pages) This book is available for $10 at the Bedford County Visitors Bureau office or by mail order (see prices below).

A lifetime which began in the horse and buggy days and has seen the miracle of man's landing on the moon has witnessed profound changes not even imagined in the early years of the Twentieth Century. Only one who has experienced them can realize the vast differences that time has wrought in the lifestyles of average people.

Perhaps some of the changes may become evident to those who read these sketches describing the childhood days of one small girl who lived in the sleepy town of Bedford --- written as they were recalled after many years, recounted without nostalgia, but with great fondness.
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The Lost ChildrenThe Lost Children by Ned Frear
(76 pages) This book is available for $10 at the Bedford County Visitors Bureau office or by mail order (see prices below).

Two little boys, lost in the wilderness of the Allegheny Front in 1856 brought a thousand men from near and far to search the twisting hollows and steep ridges. For two desperate weeks, they hunted in vain until a man named Jacob Dibert had three dreams, in which he found them. The story of the Lost Children of the Alleghenies has always been compelling. With the full awareness of those troubled times, it becomes even more dramatic.

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My Favorites by Ned Frear
(76 pages) This book is available for $10 at the Bedford County Visitors Bureau office or by mail order (see prices below).

A selection of my favorite writings over 38 years. It is extremely difficult to choose the few we can print, because there have been so many inspiring, fascinating people to write about. Many others could be included. I tried to disregard the editorials on subjects that vexed me, and chose columns that still move me.
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The Roy Wilburn Story by Ron Morgan
(63 pages) This book is available for $8 at the Bedford County Visitors Bureau office or by mail order (see prices below).

The East Broad Top Railroad lost a good friend and lifelong supporter on August 31, 1991. Curtis LeRoy "Roy" Wilburn, longtime associate of the railroad and operating vice president of the company at the time of his retirement in 1989, was many things to many people. It would be safe to say that Roy --- to a great degree --- was the EBT.
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131 South Juliana Street
Bedford, PA 15522

Bedford County, PA History Books

 Gravity Hill Souvenirs from Bedford County, PA