Bedford, Indiana

Bedford, Indiana is a city in Lawrence County, Indiana. Bedford is home to 13,000 people. Bedford's mayor is Shawna Girgis. Bedford is the county seat of Lawrence County.

History
In 1825, some men plotted a town in the middle of the county, away from the river where the old county seat Palestine, Lawrence County, Indiana was. A land owner name Moses Fell Dunn didn't want to give his land to the new settlers, but he did. They had moved the county seat to Bedford due to many people getting Malaria. The town was a lot safer than Palestine. In 2015, a new apartment building was built for senior citizens. The building is now the third tallest in the city, being only behind the Regions Bank Tower and the St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church.

1892 Fire
In the summer of 1892, a fire broke out in the bottom third of Bedford. The fire raced through the streets of town and had killed nobody. The fire had burned two thirds of Bedford before hitting a brick building and stopped. The town was rebuilt by 1900.

1911 Tornado
On November 11, 1911, a tornado hit Bedford and caused extreme damage to the town. Damage was up to $500,000 in 1911 USD.

1990 Tornado
In 1990, a large F4 tornado hit the town causing unimaginable damage on Highway 37. A Speedway gas station was completely swept away. The tornado moved into the Bedford limits and killed a baby in a mobile home park that was completely gone. The tornado exited the city limits and dissipated near Shawswick, Indiana.

2011 Tornado
An EF3 tornado hit Bedford, injuring 17 people. Several homes were destroyed.

2013 Tornado
An EF1 tornado hit the north side of Bedford causing notable damage.

2017 Tornado
An EF1 tornado hit Springville Indiana (northwest of bedford) causing trees falling and slight damage with 2 mobile homes with no one living in them destroyed.

Setup
The city has three major neighborhoods.
 * Englewood - Englewood is a neighborhood in the southern part of town, residing to at least over 1,000 people.
 * Edgewood - An addition of homes near in the Parkview School District. Large houses mainly take up the land in the Edgewood area, of which all are surrounded by woods.
 * Dutchtown - An area where dutch settlers moved in, made up of old, falling in houses that are at least 100-200 years old. It begins at the intersection of 18th and H Street, and ends at the intersection of H and 22nd Street.

Climate
The climate in Bedford in usually humid summers and cool to mild winters. The rating in Bedford is Cfa. (humid subtropical climate) Below are some of the average temperatures in Bedford.

Population
The population as of 2010 was 13,413. A small drop from the population in 2000.

Notable Events

 * Limestone Heritage Festival and Parade
 * Homecoming Parade
 * Christmas Parade
 * Bedford Annual MarathonHalf-Marathon.jpg1978BedfordParade.jpg

Nicknames
Bedford has only 2 known nicknames:
 * The Limestone Capital of the world
 * Stone City

Notable People

 * Ken Bowersox
 * Damon Bailey
 * Craig Bowden
 * Donald Brashear
 * James Samuel Coleman
 * William Jenner
 * Becky Skillman
 * Charles Walker
 * Fred Wampler
 * William T. Wiley
 * Clayton Anderson (singer)

Awards
Bedford has won the city of the year award in 2013. The city even got its own documentary called Our Town Bedford.

Schools
Bedford and the rest of Northern Lawrence County, is a part of the Northern Lawrence Community Schools (NLCS) District. Below are all the schools in the NLCS:
 * Bedford North-Lawrence High School (BNL) or (BNLHS)
 * Bedford Middle School (formerly Bedford Junior High School) also known as (BMS or BJHS)
 * Oolitic Middle School (OMS)
 * Shawswick Middle School (SMS) ShawswickMiddleSchool.jpg


 * Dollens Elementary School (DES or the Bearcats)
 * Fayetteville Elementary School (FES or the Lions)
 * Heltonville Elementary School
 * Lincoln Elementary School (LES or the Trojans)
 * Needmore Elementary School (NES or the Toppers)
 * Parkview Primary School (PVP or the Panthers)
 * Parkview Intermediate School (PVI)
 * Shawswick Elementary School (SES or the Farmers)
 * Springville Elementary School (SVES or the Hornets)
 * Stalker Elementary School (STES or the Wildcats)

Lawrence County Spelling Bee
The Lawrence County Spelling Bee is a spelling bee that takes place in February of every year. The first spelling bee was in 1974 in addition of a part of the National Spelling Bee. Below are the winners listed by year and decade:

2010s
Bold indicates winners. Italicized Letters indicates runner ups.
 * 2015 Elementary: Ben Wray, Kristina Rainey
 * 2015 Overall Championship: Owen Beaver, Ben Wray
 * 2016 Elementary: Ben Wray, Alexandra Sheperd
 * 2016 Overall Championship: Amber Voigtschild, Owen Beaver
 * 2017 Elementary: Olivia Jordan, Brendan Brown
 * 2017 Overall: Amber Voigtschild, Sarah Getman