Historical Hall – 1806

608 Old Post Road
This simple colonial building was originally a Methodist Church built at Bedford Four Corners. It was moved to its present site at the base of Bates Hill in 1837 by twenty yoke of oxen and the house next door became the Parsonage. This is also the site of the original meetinghouse which was laid out by the proprietors in March 1681. The foundation of the first meetinghouse was uncovered during a 2010 restoration of Historical Hall and has been preserved.

The Methodists stopped holding services here and in 1916 the building was put up for auction. It was rumored that a developer planned to convert it to a multi-family dwelling. A group of nine Bedford residents ultimately purchased it to use as a community house and founded The Bedford Historical Society to manage it. They put in a stage, changing rooms and bathrooms and began renting it to cover the expenses of its maintenance. The building has been improved and maintained by the Society ever since and is used for private parties, meetings and exhibitions.

In 1976, Historical Hall caught fire when a gust of air from opening the door blew the stage curtains into a lamp that had been left on by accident. The building suffered much damage in spite of the speedy alert and hard work of the Bedford Fire Department to contain the blaze. Together, the Historical Society, a local insurance agent and local contractors worked quickly to reopen the building in time for Bedford’s Bi-Centennial Celebrations in the same year.