NAME GAME: Just as we suspected, there was a little bit of
intrigue in how Bradford got its name.
Returning to the Rev. Dominic Monti’s information, part one of
which we carried yesterday, we learned that the 1901 history which
his mother had had mentioned that what is now the City of Bradford
owes its development to the U.S. Land Co. of Boston which bought up
some 160,000 acres in 1836 (for 6 cents an acre!), sending Col.
Leavitt C. Little to the area in 1837 as their land agent.
Father Monti continues, “He decided to locate in what is now
‘downtown’ Bradford, plotting out a village, which was surveyed in
1838 and named Littleton (the fact that the company was
Boston-based may account for the New England street names – like
Boylston – which a previous reader has mentioned).”
“Settlers soon began buying up the land.
“In 1850, the U.S. Land Co. disposed of what remained of its
real estate (about 50,000 acres) to Daniel Kingsbury, although Col.
Little remained as agent until his death in 1854.
“The 1901 history then says, ‘That year, the name of the
settlement was changed from Littleton to Bradford … It is said that
Daniel Kingsbury, jealous of the honor bestowed upon Col. Little,
was the person who caused the appellation to be changed.”
“It was logical for the village to take the name of the
surrounding township, of which it was rapidly becoming the
commercial center.
“As a result of the oil discoveries in the early 1870s, Bradford
grew rapidly: it was incorporated as a borough in 1873 and charted
as a city in 1879. Foster Township was not separated from Bradford
Township until 1880. The village of Kendall Creek was annexed into
the City of Bradford as its 6th Ward – somewhat later (in the
1890s?) I believe.”
GAS PAIN: Our roving reporter Rocco Camas of Bradford returned
from a trip around the state with these gas prices: Johnsonburg,
,3.55; Ridgway, ,3.49; Intersection of routes 153 and 255 at
Penfield, ,3.49; and Milesburg, ,3.63. That same day, Bradford’s
posted price was ,3.74.
These prices were after oil dipped below ,100 a barrel. That’s
also been a source of wonderful for us. Seems like pump prices
shoot up when oil goes up but only slowly meander down when it
drops.
