THE BEDFORD HISTORICAL SOCIETY was founded in 1916 for the purpose of saving the 1806 Methodist Church on the Village Green, now known as Historical Hall.  It is owned by the Society and may be rented for community events, exhibitions and receptions.  See Renting Historical Hall for information on renting the hall.

In 1918 the Bedford Historical Society assumed responsibility for the Bedford Museum.  Established in 1913, it was housed in the small stone building on the Green, which was used as a schoolhouse from its erection in 1829 until 1912.  The expanded museum is now on the second floor of the Court House and the School House has been restored as a 19th century one-room school.

In 1946, the Society purchased the property, now known as the Jackson House, at the corner of Court Road to protect the adjacent Court House.  The Court House, built in 1787, was restored by the Historical Society and the Town of Bedford in 1969. It is the oldest, extant Westchester government building and one of only three 18th century court houses in New York. Court sessions were held here, alternately with White Plains, until 1870, by which time the railroad had made two county seats unnecessary.  The Court House is owned by the Town of Bedford which maintains its exterior while the Historical Society has responsibility for interior maintenance and for the museum.

The Society purchased the 1838 General Store, next to the Old Burying Ground, in 1968 and the 1838 Post Office and the Lounsbery Building, once the Village A&P, in 1972.  The 1807 Library building, formerly the Bedford Academy, was given to the Society in 1972.

In 1977, through the efforts the citizens of Bedford, two acres of land surrounding the Bedford Oak, which had been deeded to the Town in 1947 by Harold Whitman in memory of his wife, Georgia Squiers Whitman, were purchased to protect the Oak from encroaching development.   This vital buffer was conveyed to the Historical Society which manages it as well as the additional funds that were raised and are held in reserve to preserve and beautify the land that belongs now and forever to the Bedford Oak.

On the corner of Guard Hill and Succabone Roads stands the Sutton Clock Tower.  This clock was purchased in 1879 by James Sutton as a gift for his new wife, the former Florence Macy, who was homesick for the chimes of Grace Church clock near her home in New York City.   The clock was installed atop a barn on their farm.  The barn was dismantled but the clock was preserved and donated to the community in 1939.  Fifty neighbors who had come to rely on the hourly chiming, raised the funds to remount the clock in the brick tower where it sits today.  Since 1985, the Historical Society has leased the tower and maintains the clock and its surrounding property.   A group of neighbors, known as the Clock Winders, takes turns winding the clock.