Discover the magic of the holidays in historic downtown Bedford, PA
Quaint town with unique shops, fine and casual dining, award winning Omni Bedford Springs Resort...visit historical downtown Bedford, PA and discover the magic of the holidays!
History abounds at Bedford Springs
By: WJAC Web Staff
BEDFORD, Pa. -- Bedford is a town that is loaded with history. It played a major role in the Whiskey Rebellion and the first President of the United States, George Washington, spent a lot of time in the area during his presidency. But a few minutes south of the borough sits another spot where a lot of presidents have spent some time.
The location is now known as the Omni Bedford Springs Resort, or just Bedford Springs, as it's known by those in the area.
People started coming to the Bedford Springs in the mid-1700s because of reported healing powers in the water, according to Bedford Springs Historian Bill Defibaugh.
They came because they heard of the healing waters of the Bedford Springs, Defibaugh said. If you were sick, and you knew there was no medicine that could help you, you'd try anything.
Defibaugh said there were five medicinal springs at the resort area, and they were used to treat all kinds of ailments. People would gather and set up tents in the valley to be near the springs.
Defibaugh has a special connection to Bedford Springs, as his family help to build it.
My folks had a tavern. It was called the Defibaugh Tavern, Defibaugh said.
The Bedford Springs was founded by Dr. John Anderson and carted some guests off to the tavern to stay and to eat.
An old ledger shows some of the famous names who stayed there, including James Vanderbilt and Andrew Carnegie.
By the 1800s people needed an escape from the industrialized cities and came to Bedford to relax.
During that period, many presidents would come, vice-presidents, congressmen, and what have you, Defibaugh said. We're very close to Washington [D.C.], so they would just come for visits. They came not because they were sick, but just to have a good time.
No president spent more time at Bedford Springs than James Buchanan. The resort ended up getting the name as his summer White House, Defibaugh said.
Buchanan received the first Trans-Atlantic telegraph while in the lobby of the Bedford Springs in 1858. It was from Queen Victoria.
In the 1940s the federal government took over operations of the Bedford Springs.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt turned it into a naval radio school.
It was being used as a hotel, but they wanted to vacate everybody and have a school here, a radio school, Defibaugh said. From 1942 to 1945 they graduated 7,000 sailors with their license in radio.
A few years later it was used as an internment camp for Japanese prisoners of war.
It was like a semi-guarded prison. All around the hotel they had fences up with barbed wire and guards, Defibaugh said.
When the war in Japan ended, the prison closed and the Bedford Springs became a hotel again.
A few years later, the hotel would end up closing.
Because of finances, they shut it down. In [1987] it stayed empty for 20 years, Defibaugh said. Then they opened it again, thanks to the new owners in 2007.
People from all over the country once again are traveling to enjoy the peaceful serenity of the mountains and the springs.
As much as the resort is a place to relax, it's a living tribute to history.
Defibaugh said there are pictures of the old Defibaugh Tavern. The old kitchen's been preserved, and the tools used to construct the buildings are housed in glass cases.
Defibaugh donated most of the old furniture that is scattered throughout the resort.
I followed the history all my life, Defibaugh said. My kids enjoy the Bedford Springs. They come here to eat on Fridays.
105th Pa Company E - Old Bedford Village 2007
Civil War Reenactment June 2007 at Old Bedford Village. The 105th Pa Company E attended this event
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Restaurant just off the Lincoln Highway Near Bedford PA
Take a scenic drive near Bedford, PA on the Lincoln Highway just a few miles east of Bedford Springs Resort. When you get to the Everett exit...take it. Just keep going through the historic little town of Everett (about a mile off the Lincoln Highway) and watch for the Union Hotel on the right. It's pretty much right in the middle of town. Just walk on in and feast your eyes on some of the most luxurious amenities you've ever seen in the restoration of a previously dilapidated building. The place is a showcase of stonework... marble and granite. As you walk around, you'll see two very ornate dining rooms, a huge outside deck and coffee bar that is just out of this world.
Then take the elevator downstairs to the Bullshead Tavern for a shot of even more old world charm mixed with modern opulence. Keep walking on past the beautifully ornamented bar area and you will find a gorgeously upholstered leather couch that seats at least a dozen smack dab in front of big screen TV. This is place you could really get comfortable in. Why not take your coat off and stay a while.
By the way...the food...well what would you expect in a place like this?
Believe me, you won't be disappointed.
New Bedford Whaling Museum
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Andy Masich Introduces The Civil War in Pennsylvania Magazine
This special issue of Western Pennsylvania History, a collaboration with Legacies magazine (published by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania) and Pennsylvania Heritage (published by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission), combines articles from all three publications to commemorate the Civil War sesquicentennial.
Highlights include:
- The Union's Forgotten First Defenders
- Waging War Their Own Way: Women and the Civil War in Pennsylvania
- The Union League of Philadelphia and the Civil War
- Behind the Scenes of the Allegheny Arsenal Explosion
- All's Fair: Philadelphia and the Civil War Sanitary Fair
- The War History of Corporal Funk
Read the full eMagazine at
Hotels in Bedford PA, Bedford Pennsylvania Hotels.
Americas Best Value Inn Bedford PA - All guest rooms at Hotels in Bedford PA are generously equipped with free wireless high-speed Internet access, cable TV with HBO, recliner, desk, and alarm clock. Start your day right at Bedford Pennsylvania Hotels with free continental breakfast. Get more information from
Canonade at Battle of Old Bedford Village... June-2015 (VRG-1)
Canonade at Battle of Old Bedford Village... June-2015 (VRG-1)
Inventuous
Living History Award 2017 Bedford County Heritage Project - Bedford County 21st CCLC Consortium After School Program. Bedford Area Elementary School site.
The Story of Indian Eve - Bedford AfterSchool
Winner of the 2017-18 Star Award for Best Elementary Video - Bedford Elementary students created a video of the story of a pioneer woman and her two sons who were captured and sold into slavery in colonial Bedford County. Writers: Kevin Smith, Katrina Leppert, Erykah Hopkins, Makaylee Flanagan, Hannah Means, Ryen Cobak
Director(s): Owen Tedrow, Jacob Wilson
Production managers: Jacob Wilson
Production Crew: Seth Foor, Avery Hafer, Gregory Covert, Xavier Brubaker, Brianna Miller, Guage Karns, Breanna Barton, Gavin Burkett, Jose Colon, Julianna Ferris
Props/set designers: Xinyi Zheng, Theodore Rose, Callie McMurtrie, Laila Patt-Williams
Principal Actors: Nic Brenner, Christopher Krzanowsky, Owen Tedrow, Katrina Leppert, Dakoda Loy, Raissa Robles, Stephanie Christopher, Ethan Clark, Quincy Mangone, Preston Mangone, Hunter Davis
Supporting actors: Theodore Rose, Samuel Koontz, Bryton Hengst, Makaylee Flanagan, Erykah Hopkins, Shyla Bowers, Xinyi Zheng, Jacob Yokum, Thomas Price, Jacob Wilson, Jack Bannon, Grandin Lewis, Ryen Cobak, Darian Nowlin, Olivia Gasper, Timothy Christopher, Preston Clark, Mariah Noel, Jessika Nowlin, Jesiah McLaughlin, Jason Lindsay, Cameron Corr
Videographer(s): Jason Lindsay, Elizabeth Dodd, Jacob Wilson
Sound engineer(s): Jack Bannon, Grandin Lewis
Editors: Jacob Wilson
Animators: Jacob Wilson
Fort Ligonier tour
This video will give you a look at Fort Ligonier, a restored French and Indian War era wooden fort in Ligonier, Pennsylvania.
This was the final fort in a chain along the route of General Forbes advance against the French in Fort Duquesne, located in modern day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
A Point of Controversy
The first Battle of the American Revolution. Was it fought in Massachusetts or in West Virginia? Trailer for the Book 'A Point of Controversy by C. Stephen Badgley.
Pennsylvania Spiritual Heritage: The State House
A video tour highlighting the integration of the Judeo-Christian tradition and biblical citations into the art, decoration and citations that adorn the PA State house, an historic landmark.
2007 Old Bedford Village, PA Civil War Reenactment
2007 Civil War Reenactment of Old Bedford Village. The 105th Pa Company E attended this reenactment. About 700 Troops and 20 cannon attended. Courtesy of YouTube user GettysburgGhost1863
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Detailed Description of Rice Ancestors in the Civil War, Bedford County, PA
Detailed description from Shreve's Chapel in Bedford County, PA of Rice's who served in the Civil War.
Around Kansas - Museum of Also Rans in Norton - April 20, 2016
(Frank) And we're back again. We're in an election year. (Deb) Really! Who knew? Who knew? (Frank) I had the privilege of working for Alf Landon, a former Governor of Kansas back in the 1930s and had many conversations. He owned WREN radio. There are a lot of stories about Alf, but the one that I like is when I first met him, I was in college and I worked a very early morning shift at WREN from 4 to 6 - and I got to read the farm markets, cause I could read them. I had no idea what I was reading, but I sounded convincing. So one morning about 4:30AM the studio was over on 10th Street and it had an all glass front and there was this old guy knocking on the glass and pointing toward the back door. I kind of ignored him. He pounded on the glass and pointed toward the back door. I shook my head No. But he was insistent so I went to the back door and I said, I'm sorry sir, but we can't allow anyone in here this time of the day. And he said, I own the place. I said, Oh, Mr. Landon, it's you. (Deb) What a great first impression there Frank. (Frank) Yes, I really made a first impression. He had on this old flannel shirt and these old pants and this old hat and of course, he used to get up very early in the morning and ride his horse out by the mansion. So then I knew to look for him in the future. (Deb) You know another interesting Alf Landon fact is, I did a presentation in Philadelphia to Mayor Nutter, during the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War, from the grateful citizens of Kansas for all the things that Pennsylvanians had done to help make us a free state and I talked about all the connections. I actually cheated. I called Blair Tarr at Kansas State Historical Society. He's a Pennsylvanian. He sent me everything I needed and I put it in this beautiful letter and Governor Parkinson signed it. I presented it to Mayor Nutter. Seven of our Governor's including the territorial period are from Pennsylvania and the last one was Alf Landon, who was born in Pennsylvania. So the connections between Pennsylvania and Kansas are tremendous. Maybe more than any other state, quite honestly. (Frank) Now, another story, a lot of people don't know this, but everybody's seen The Godfather, and of course, Marlon Brando. And Marlon Brando studied films of Alf Landon in his various ages. Brando of course put cotton in his cheeks and then would kind of talk like this and the mannerism and all of that were Alf Landon. Especially the scene where he is in the garden with his Grandson, the hat and the shirt and the pants and all that, chasing him around was Alf Landon. (Deb) Who knew? I had no idea, no idea. (Frank) Yea, true story. (Deb) And of course we talk about Alf Landon because he is one of the famous Kansans in the Gallery of Also Rans. (Frank) It's a wall of losers. Tucked away in Norton's First State Bank is the Museum of Also Rans, featuring portraits of the presidential losers. It is a pretty remarkable list. First up is Thomas Jefferson. Yep, he was beaten by his friend John Adams in 1796. Of course, Jefferson would go on to serve two terms himself but his picture is a great reminder that you don't win them all. There are a couple of famous Kansans on the wall, Alf Landon and Bob Dole, both of whom our viewers will recognize. But there are others with Kansas connections as well. John C. Breckenridge was vice president under James Buchanan and had a county named in his honor when the Kansas Territory was organized. He ran against Abraham Lincoln, lost, of course, and since he then served as a general in the Confederate Army and as a cabinet member in the administration of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, he lost his Kansas county namesake as well. Breckenridge County was changed to Lyon County, honoring Union General Nathaniel Lyon in 1862. John C Fremont was ironically defeated by James Buchanan. Fremont, the great pathfinder, is credited with securing California. His military expeditions were staged from Fort Leavenworth and he crisscrossed and mapped what would become Kansas. He, too, had a county named for him in the new Territory but when Kansas became a state and lopped off the far western reaches, it cut off Fremont County. Now, there is a Fremont County, Colorado. Horace Greeley championed the free state cause of Kansas, writing many editorials on the subject and even visited Kansas where he was injured when his stagecoach overturned. Even so, he still proclaimed in his paper, the New York Tribune, Go West Young Man! He, too, was honored with a Kansas County name in 1873 and unlike the ill-fated Breckenridge, it stuck, and the county seat became Tribune. There are others, including Winfield Scott Hancock, famed Civil War and Indian Wars general, Hancock the Superb, who served in Kansas during the Plains Indian Wars and was defeated by another Civil War veteran, the ill-fated James Garfield.
Tour Bill Cosby's prison where he will be serving his time, SCI Phoenix
This is a tour of the prison Bill Cosby was sent to on September 25, 2018. Lt. Walter Grunder, part of the transition team, gives a tour of Pennsylvania's newest state prison, the $400 million State Correctional Institution Phoenix, in Skippack Township, Montgomery County. SCI Phoenix will replace SCI Graterford by summer 2018 and will house around 3,500 inmates. (Video by Dan Gleiter/PennLive)
A Stroll Around Fort Loudoun
A Stroll Around Fort Loudoun. 250th Anniversary of James Smith & Black Boys Rebellion of 1765. Fort Loudon, PA
Civil War Reenactment
The 28th Annual Civil war Re-enactment was held at Saturday April 29, 2017 at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. (Video by William Thomas Cain)
The Monacan Indains
Bedford County 21st Century Community Learning Center Consortium 2015 Heritage Project - Winner, Secondary Division, Best Illustrated Story, Northern Bedford County Middle-Senior High School