History: 

The Village of Bradford, Ohio is situated in both Newberry and Adams Townships of Miami and Darke Counties. Miami County has the greater portion of citizens with the entire population being 1,859 as of the 2000 census. The village dates back to 1857, when the first train reached the end of the railhead at the Miami/Darke County line. At that time this area of Ohio was thick rich forest land with prairies and swamp land sections breaking through the trees. During the early 18th Century this same area had been the hunting grounds for the Shawnee Indians. That all changed in 1795 when the Treaty of Greenville was signed by most of the Ohio Indian tribes and General Anthony Wayne. This opened up huge portions of West Central Ohio for white settlement.

In 1868, the Cincinnati, Columbus & Indiana Central Railroad Company built a roundhouse at the junction of their tracks located in Western Miami County. This was the starting point of the town. The Railroad Company completed twelve stalls of their roundhouse at Bradford, and then increased the number to twenty-four and finally forty-eight stalls for the upkeep of their steam engines.

The town was first called Richmond, Richmond Junction, then Union City Junction, but in 1868, it received the name of Bradford or Bradford Junction from Tom Bradford, a mail agent on the Cincinnati, Columbus & Indiana Central Railroad. He decided the town should be named after him, since there were no other towns in Ohio by that name and he thought Bradford was a good one. The town's official name today is Bradford Village.

Charles Rapp, who lived on the Miami County side, is considered the town's first official mail carrier. He was hired by the railroad company to deliver the mail within a designated area around the depot. The depot consisted of an old boxcar. The mail was carried around in Charlie's pockets and in his hat and delivered as he ran into recipients or visited businesses. Before Mr. Rapp was hired to deliver the mail, area residents would need to travel to Covington or Gettysburg to receive their mail. On March 9, 1901, Bradford established a Rural Free Delivery (RFD) itinerary of mail routes from Bradford as announced by the United States Post Office Department. The new routes covered 50 square miles and served 2,500 people.

Early in 1868 when the Railroad Company began building in the town, Charles Dearworth built a new boarding house. It was called the "Locust House." It was located directly across from the depot on the Logansport Division of tracks. It later became known as "Louie's". Later on it was operated as "Beardsley's" and didn't close until the 1960's. "Louie's" still stands on East Main Street as a private residence and faces the old empty track bed.

At the same time, William Romans, a master mechanic of the Cincinnati, Columbus & Indiana Central Railroad, laid out some lots on the Miami County side.

Dan Rice, a foreman at the roundhouse, also purchased land and charted lots which he sold, these also being in Miami Co.

Later on the Railroad Company, Christian Sears, Moses Wise, and Wade Steel laid out more lots. In August 1868, W.H. Sowers built a large warehouse at the junction and engaged in the grain trade using the name J. Sowers & Son. A hotel called The Hoover House was erected and another hotel was built just a little ways east of the Hoover House by Dan Rice and was called the Bradford House. In 1868 one of the first houses to be built in Bradford was put up by John S. Moore. In 1869, J. Sowers & Son engaged in a general merchandise business, in addition to their booming grain trade. Also in 1869, the railway depot was built at the junction. Bradford was really beginning to grow.