Bedford Reunion

Settlers from Bedford County, Tennessee, came to this area in the 1870s. Weldon Wiles Bobo opened a store and grist mill, and several families established New Hope Church in 1874, also using the building as a school. The post office opened in 1877, and in 1882 residents established Bedford College, a private college that also served as a public community school. The college held its first term at New Hope Church, and many church founders were also college trustees, including Bobo, Milton Moore, Benjamin J. Valentine, and Richard T. Valentine. The school burned in 1894 and never reopened. In 1912, about 500 people met on the grounds of New Hope Church, by then also known as Bedford Church of Christ, for the first Bedford reunion, spending the day with sermons, music, food, and reminiscing. Organized by M.H. Moore and Lee M. Hammond, the reunion became an annual event that drew crowds in the thousands. Participants built a tabernacle in 1915 and used it until 1958, when a new church building was erected. With attendance dwindling, the last reunion was held in 1969. Over 58 years, the reunions became more about community history than Bedford College, and educators, ministers, and public officials, including two congressmen, spoke to the crowds while newspapers and later memories preserved Bedford's early history.

Bedford, Texas · United States