Marker Number: 12888
Marker Text:
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.
A prestigious institution, with graduates becoming leaders in many fields, the college held its first term at New Hope Church. 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, though, approximately 500 people met on the grounds of New Hope Church, which by then was known also as Bedford Church of Christ. There they held the first Bedford reunion, filling the day with sermons, music, food and reminiscing. M.H. Moore and Lee M. Hammond organized the first gathering, and the reunion became an annual event, with crowds in the thousands. Participants built a tabernacle in 1915 and used it until 1958, when a new church building was erected. With dwindling attendance, though, the last reunion was in 1969.
During the 58 years of Bedford reunions, which became more about community history than about Bedford College, educators, ministers and public officials, including two congressmen, delivered speeches to the crowds. Area newspapers covered reunion highlights, and through these stories and the memories of those who attended the later reunions, Bedford's early history is remembered. (2002)
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