Bedford, Iowa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bedford is a city in Taylor County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,620 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Taylor County^GR6. Lake of Three Fires State Park is located a few miles Northeast of Bedford.

1 Legends
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] Legends

1.The corn dog was invented in Bedford. Does anyone know this story? What year was it invented? By Whom? I think fellow With the intials M.W invented it in 36.

2.Wayne Harbour of Bedford, Iowa, was obsessed with proving that Ripley of 'Ripley's Believe It Or Not' was a liar. For 26 years, this postmaster wrote a letter a day challenging at least one of the claims in the daily cartoon. As of 1970, he had written 22,708 letters to people highlighted in the cartoon. He never received a single contradiction to the claims Ripley made. His letters are now part of the Ripley's collection. They can be seen at many if not most of the Ripley's Believe It Or Not museums all over the country.

Source:http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/ripleysbelieveitornot/amazing_facts.html

[edit] Geography

Bedford is located at 40°40′6″N, 94°43′16″W (40.668317, -94.721092)^GR1, along the East Fork of the One Hundred and Two River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.2 km² (1.6 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,620 people, 691 households, and 422 families residing in the city. The population density was 388.5/km² (1,007.2/mi²). There were 769 housing units at an average density of 184.4/km² (478.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.15% White, 0.06% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.74% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.67% of the population.

There were 691 households out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.1% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 26.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 84.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,125, and the median income for a family was $34,943. Males had a median income of $27,788 versus $18,125 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,313. About 10.4% of families and 13.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.4% of those under age 18 and 12.2% of those age 65 or over.