Bradford Map
Bradford is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,619 at the 2000 census.
The first settler was John Hosmer in 1765. Originally called Waits Town or Waits River Town after Joseph Wait, it was changed to Mooretown when 3,000 acres (1200 hectares) were granted on May 3, 1770 by New York patent to Sir Henry Moore, 1st Baronet, who in turn conveyed them to 30 settlers. The remainder of the land was appropriated by squatters. In 1788, the name was changed by the Vermont General Assembly to Bradford.
Although the chief occupation of the town was farming, mills developed at falls on the Waits River. On October 10, 1848, the Connecticut & Passumpsic Rivers Railroad formally opened to Bradford. By 1859, when the town's population was 1,723, industries included a foundry and machine shop, two gristmills, three sawmills, a paper mill, a whetstone factory. Bradford also manufactured farm implements, wooden ware and tinware.
Nearby cities include Wells River, Woodsville, Groton, Lisbon, East Barre.