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.
Email Me
Home
Page
This page
last updated 07/07/07 by DeeLon Merritt
Copyrighted 1998-2007. All Rights Reserved.