Welcome to
Bedford, Wyoming

 

    Welcome, welcome! There is very little available on the internet about this small town, so here are some facts about Bedford and it's surrounding areas.

     A brief history of this town; Bedford was settled in 1888. This is the time the first homestead was established and thus the town had begun. At first, cattle and horses were raised in the area and as time moved on, sawmills were a big part of the ever growing community.  Bedford is and has always been a peaceful country community with access to just about any outdoor activity you like. Land changed hands often and some families still hold part of the original pieces their forefathers claimed.  For an in-depth history of these little communities (Bedford & Turnerville), you can get a hold of the book "Tell Me 'Bout the Good Ole Days". If you are interested, email me and I will send you an address of the person to contact.
    Bedford is a small town found in western Wyoming. Geographically, Bedford's elevation is around 6250 ft. However, this community covers an area of approximately 12-15 square miles and ranges from 6200 to 6950 ft altitude (that is valley floor elevations where most housing is). The approximate population for the community is 450-500. The closest larger towns are Afton 16 miles away, Jackson Hole 62 miles away, Idaho Falls, Idaho 93 miles away. There are no stores in Bedford and all there are besides homes are a U.S. post office and an Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Church house. There are other religions in the area but the dominant one is the LDS church, all others go to one of the surrounding communities for their services. Since this page was first put here, this “little” town has really grown.
     Surrounding
Bedford are the Rocky Mountains. Bedford is one of the many communities which make up a place called Star Valley. On the eastern side of the community lies a national forest known as Bridger-Teton National Forest. To the south is a small community which through the years has been considered part of Bedford and for this page we will include it in, even though it is still a community known as Turnerville. It also boarders the Bridger-Teton National forest on the eastern and southern sides. On the other side of the valley to the west, is the Caribou National Forest in Idaho. On the northern tip of the valley, is the Targhee National Forest. The entire Star Valley area is completely surrounded by national forest as you can see on this map ( Star Valley is the small white area in the middle of these three national forest in the upper right).
     Two larger canyons exit into the community of Bedford from the eastern mountains which have dirt roads that take you back into the mountains and the national forest a little ways. One, known as Strawberry Creek, has a small hydro plant in it and a small reservoir to power the plant. The reservoir is located approximately two miles up the canyon and is only about as large as a football field.  The Wyoming Game and Fish plant this reservoir with pan size cutthroat trout once or twice a year which makes a nice place for a family outing where the whole family can fish. Some fish survive the winters and can be caught two or three years after planting which makes them firmer and better tasting meat. The problem with this place however, is it is so well known to many anymore that it is hard to be able to go and enjoy it without it being to crowded to allow free movement (one of the down flaws of a good thing). The second, Willow Creek, comes out in the Turnerville area and the road goes up this canyon almost all the way to the top. One small lake in this canyon known as Hidden Lake, for a very good reason, is fairly well known but has no fish in it. It is named this because the road goes right around it just off the hill and unless you know it's there, you would never guess there was a lake here. New update to this, in 2004 this lake’s bottom dropped out (a hole about 3 feet wide) and the lake no longer exists. Both canyons have a creek that runs year around in them and at one time was excellent fishing but over time and due to head gates for irrigation, the fish populations have been cut down dramatically. Both these canyons have maintained trails which go to each other and make a loop as well as branch off and go over the mountains into the Greys River area (part of the Bridger-Teton National Forest).
     Small rolling hills surround the
Bedford area on all sides except the northwestern which is open to the Star Valley floor and to the east where large mountains stand, thus making Bedford nested in a small little pocket sort of secluded and by itself. US highway 89 runs through Star Valley from one end to the other and Bedford lies off this main thoroughfare about 3 miles.
     Bedford has no industrial business and only a few Commercial contractors so there is no real income in the immediate community. This is no real problem because many of the people living here are retired and the ones that aren't, don't usually have to far to travel.
     Most of the land here is used for farming where alfalfa and grain are the most popular crops. At one time there were many dairies in the area and over the years they have all but gone where one or two still exist along with a few ranchers. The hay is now sold to other dairies and ranchers or sold to the
Wyoming Game and Fish to help feed the elk population at local feed grounds.
     Wildlife that are found in the area include but are not limited to; elk, mule deer. white tail deer, fox, coyotes, mountain lion (cougars), badger, wolverine, bear, pika, chipmunks, gray squirrels, moose, weasel, beaver, otter, skunk, porcupine, raccoon, muskrat, prairie dogs, bobcat, bald eagle, sparrow hawk,  rough grouse, blue grouse and many others. The main types of fish found in the area are Native Cutthroat and Eastern Brook Trout although just down the road we have White Fish and others. Most don't make it upstream to
Bedford except the trout. In the fall some Brown Trout make their way up the creeks but not to many.
     Summer recreation includes hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, sight seeing drives, and much more. Winter recreation includes snow machining, fishing, winter camp outs, and much more. Winter takes up about 6-7 months of the year on the valley floor and much more up on the mountains. On an average year, the snow depths cover most fences and make the area look as if it is truly wide open. The temperature in the summer gets up to around 90 degrees on the warm days and dips in the winter to -20 degrees. These temperatures are not set for sure but they are about average over the years.

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This page last updated 07/07/07 by DeeLon Merritt
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