Bedford, Indiana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 38°51′46″N, 86°29′32″W
'City of Bedford, Indiana'
Location in the state of Indiana
County	Lawrence
Government
- Mayor	Joe Klumpp
Area
- City	30.8 km² (11.9 sq mi)
- Land	30.8 km² (11.9 sq mi)
- Water	0.0 km² (0 sq mi)
Population (2000)
- City	13,768
- Density	446.7/km² (1,156.9/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Website: www.bedford.in.us

Bedford is a city in Lawrence County, Indiana, United States. The population was 13,768 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Lawrence County^GR6, and was founded under its current name in the early 1900s by a wealthy landowner named Kyle Wade.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Sports Teams & History
4 Notable Residents
5 Economy
6 Transportation
7 Education
8 Profiles of Bedford
9 Nearby points of interest
10 External links

[edit] Geography

Bedford is located at 38°51′46″N, 86°29′32″W (38.862728, -86.492329)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 30.8 km² (11.9 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 13,768 people, 6,054 households, and 3,644 families residing in the city. The population density was 446.7/km² (1,157.1/mi²). There were 6,618 housing units at an average density of 214.7/km² (556.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.87% White, 0.79% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.70% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.26% of the population.

There were 6,054 households out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,022, and the median income for a family was $39,462. Males had a median income of $31,956 versus $22,578 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,649. About 7.4% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.8% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Sports Teams & History

Bedford Stonecutters (High School) 1890-1973 Bedford North Lawrence Stars 1974-present

The Bedford North Lawrence High School is known for its basketball and golf programs. The Boys basketball team won a state title in 1990, being led by Damon Bailey. The girls won state titles in 1983 and 1991. The boys golf team advanced at least to regionals for 31 concecutive years from 1974 to 2005. They have appeared in state finals many times and have numerous top five finishes. In 2006, the football stars won a Hoosier Hills Conference title, the first in 11 years. Currently, the swimming teams are ranked 11th in the state. The baseball team is curently ranked 7th in the state.

[edit] Notable Residents

Actor Claude Akins was raised in Bedford although he was born in Nelson, Georgia

High school and College basketball star Damon Bailey was born and raised in nearby Heltonville, which funnels its students into Bedford North Lawrence High School

Astronaut Charles Walker was born in Bedford. Astronaut Kenneth Bowersox was raised in Bedford.

NHL tough guy Donald Brashear was born in Bedford

Sociologist James S. Coleman was born in Bedford.

[edit] Economy

Bedford is known as the limestone capital of the world, and is surrounded by limestone quarries, many of which are used by the residents for swimming. A common name for the light gray Indiana limestone quarried in south central Indiana is "Bedford limestone". Much of the limestone used in the construction of various Washington, D.C. monuments was quarried in the Bedford area. Bedford received $700,000 in grants from the federal government to build an eight-story replica of the Great Pyramid out of local limestone. The work was never completed.[1]

Bedford is also home to automotive plants run by General Motors and Visteon.

[edit] Transportation

No Interstate highways are nearby; the closest is Interstate 65, approximately 35 miles (56 km) east.
U.S. Highway 50 goes through the heart of the city, connecting Bedford with Seymour to the east, and Vincennes to the west.
State Road 37 connects Bedford to Bloomington to the north and Mitchell to the south.
Bedford is served by two railroads: CSX Transportation, via its former Monon Railroad line to Louisville, Kentucky; and the Canadian Pacific Railway, on its 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.)

[edit] Education

Bedford is the home of Oakland City University School of Adult and Extended Learning[2] and Oakland City University [3].

[edit] Profiles of Bedford

Recently, Bedford, Indiana was featured as the subject of an hour-long PBS special entitled "Our Town: Bedford", first aired in May 2006. It was produced by PBS affiliate WTIU in Bloomington, Indiana.