Local events in Bradford
Nothing is posted for Bradford itself yet; here is what is on within 20 miles. All local events in Bradford
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Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.
How Bradford began
Bradford was platted in 1865 and incorporated in 1871 entirely within Darke County, named for Tom Bradford, an official of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad. The village grew explosively in its first two decades -- from 243 residents in 1870 to 1,373 by 1880 -- because the railroad split into northern (Chicago) and southern (East St. Louis) branches at Bradford Junction, making it a convenient crew-change and provisioning stop. The junction's 1895 interlocking tower is on the National Register of Historic Places, and the village's railroad heritage is preserved today at the Bradford Railroad Museum.
Platted 1865, incorporated 1871.
Where the name comes from
Named for Tom Bradford, an official of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, whose line split into Chicago-bound and St. Louis-bound branches at the village.
Before the town
No Native American village or site specific to present-day Bradford is documented in the sources checked; the village was platted in 1865, seven decades after the Treaty of Greenville opened the area to settlement.
Nations recorded here: Shawnee, Miami.
Timeline
- — Bradford is platted entirely within Darke County, named for railroad official Tom Bradford.
- — Census records 243 residents.
- — Bradford is incorporated as a village.
- — Population reaches 1,373, a 235.7 percent increase over the previous decade, driven by the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad's junction at the village.
- — The Bradford Junction Interlocking Tower is built to control the railroad's Chicago and East St. Louis branch split; it is later listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- — Woodrow Wilson, then governor of New Jersey and the Democratic presidential nominee, campaigns from a train stop in Bradford.
- — Conrail, successor to the original railroad, abandons the tracks running through Bradford.
Stories
A junction town built by a fork in the tracks
Bradford's whole reason for existing was a decision made by railroad engineers, not settlers looking for good farmland. When the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad laid its line through Darke County, planners chose this spot to split the route into two branches, one running north toward Chicago and one running south and west toward East St. Louis. The village platted here in 1865 and named for railroad official Tom Bradford grew explosively as a result: crews needed a place to change out, freight needed sorting, and the population more than quintupled between 1870 and 1880. By 1890 more of Bradford's residents lived across the line in Miami County than in Darke, a sign of how far the boomtown had spread from its original plat. The junction's 1895 interlocking tower, which once controlled the switching of trains bound for two different corners of the country, still stands as a National Register landmark, even though the tracks themselves went silent when Conrail pulled up the line in the 1980s.
Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · loc.gov · en.wikipedia.org
Historic places
1 place in Bradford on the National Register of Historic Places. Press a pin or a name for its whole record.
-
Bradford Junction Interlocking TowerBuilding · Bradford · listed 1995
- Address
- 501 E. Main St.
- Where
- Bradford, Miami County · ZIP 45308
- What it is
- Building
- Listed on the National Register
- 1995
- NRIS reference number
- 95000497
- Coordinates
- 40.13108, -84.42459
National Register file (NPS) ↗ Search Wikipedia ↗ Street map and directions ↗ On the Cracked Buckeye map
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places point file. The listing year is shown where NPS's certification date agrees with the listing's reference number. Listing recognizes significance; it does not restrict a private owner.
Water
Mostly private wells The water here
- Bradford Village100% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
Hospitals, fire stations and more
Inside Bradford's boundary: 1 fire or EMS station, 2 public schools, 1 library, 1 museum, 1 Toxics Release Inventory facility and 1 spill case. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.
Fire and EMS stations (1)
-
Bradford Fire and Rescue ServiceBradford
- Address
- 200 South Miami Avenue, Bradford, OH 45308
- Coordinates
- 40.12922, -84.43047
USGS National Map structures (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: USGS National Map structures (most Ohio records last updated 2019 to 2022), checked against the Columbus and Cleveland station lists. The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction and mutual aid, not by distance.
Public schools (2)
-
Bradford Elementary School2.5 of 5 stars · Bradford
- Address
- 740 Railroad Ave, Bradford, OH 45308
- School district
- Bradford Ex Vill School District
- Kind (NCES)
- Regular School
- Students, 2023-24
- 255
- Teachers (full-time equivalent)
- 16.17
- Report card, 2025-26
- 2.5 of 5 stars
- Performance index
- 71.3%
- Ohio building IRN
- 003368
- NCES school ID
- 390452202127
NCES school record ↗ Ohio School Report Card ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Bradford High School3.5 of 5 stars · Bradford
- Address
- 750 Railroad Ave, Bradford, OH 45308
- School district
- Bradford Ex Vill School District
- Kind (NCES)
- Regular School
- Students, 2023-24
- 244
- Teachers (full-time equivalent)
- 17.3
- Report card, 2025-26
- 3.5 of 5 stars
- Performance index
- 70.2%
- Four-year graduation rate
- 94.6%
- Ohio building IRN
- 003376
- NCES school ID
- 390452202126
NCES school record ↗ Ohio School Report Card ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: NCES EDGE public school locations 2024-25 and Common Core of Data 2023-24 (type, students, teachers); Ohio School Report Cards 2025-26 (Department of Education and Workforce), matched by name within the district.
Public libraries (1)
-
Bradford Public LibraryCentral library · Bradford
- Address
- 138 E. Main St., Bradford, OH 45308
- What it is
- Central library
- Library system
- Bradford Public Library
- Open
- 1,976 hours a year, 52 weeks
- Building
- 10,006 sq ft
- System's visits, FY2024
- 6,760
- System's loans, FY2024
- 26,079
- People the system serves
- 3,153
- Phone
- (937) 448-2612
IMLS Public Libraries Survey (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: IMLS Public Libraries Survey FY2024 (outlets and their systems). Any Ohio resident can get a free card at any Ohio public library.
Museums, historical societies, gardens and zoos (1)
-
Bradford Ohio Railroad MuseumMuseum · Bradford
- What it is
- Museum
- City
- Bradford
- Coordinates
- 40.13230, -84.43085
Search Wikipedia ↗ IMLS Museum Data Files (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
The museum list is IMLS's 2018 file; a museum may have closed or moved since.
Source: IMLS Museum Data Files, 2018.
Facilities reporting toxic releases (1)
-
Production Paint Finishers, Inc. (0819030169)Toxics Release Inventory · Bradford
- Address
- 140 Center Street, Bradford, OH 45308
- County
- Darke County
- Status
- Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
- EPA program ID
- 45308PRDCT140CE
- EPA registry ID
- 110001630664
EPA facility record ↗ EPA Facility Registry Service (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: EPA Facility Registry Service, Toxics Release Inventory reporters. Reporting a release is required of large users of listed chemicals; it is not by itself a violation.
Spills reported since 2021 (1)
-
Natural Gas2024-07-20 · Bradford
- Reported
- 2024-07-20
- What spilled
- Natural Gas
- Where
- Bradford, Miami County
- Ohio EPA district office
- SWDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2407EPA0001236
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: Ohio EPA emergency response spill reports, 2021 to September 2026, one point per case where Ohio EPA placed it. A report is what the caller or responder recorded; amounts are often blank or estimated.
Its ZIP codes
Each ZIP code that touches Bradford, with the share of its residents who live here and the same headline figures as the ZIP page.
| ZIP | Share | Water | Radon | Home value | Schools | Flood |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45308 Bradford | 40% | Mostly private wells | 4.5 pCi/L average radon | Median year built 1928 | Bradford Exempted Village · 3 stars overall | 3.1% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
Local government
Who holds office in Bradford, how its elections and ballot issues came out, and the state auditor's record.
Money issues on the ballot since 2017: 2 of 2 passed.
Ballot issues
| Date | Issue | For | Against | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-11-02 | Issue: Bradford Village Tax Levy (levy type not on the results report) | 171 | 42 | Passed (80.28% for) |
| 2017-11-07 | Issue 15: ISSUE 15 - Bradford Village Tax Levy | 146 | 51 | Passed (74.11% for) |
Elections for office
| Date | Office | Candidates and votes |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-11-07 | Member of Council | Galen Balmert 123, 42.12%; Robert L. Daugherty 169, 57.88% |
| 2023-11-07 | Mayor | Don Stump 171, 100.0% |
| 2021-11-02 | Member of Council | Darell Swank 166, 61.71%; Lance A. Wooddeil 103, 38.29% |
| 2019-11-05 | Member of Council | Robert EL. Daugherty 67, 52.34%; Galen A. Baimert 61, 47.66% |
| 2019-11-05 | Clerk-Treasurer | Brenda Selanders 81, 100.0% |
| 2017-11-07 | Council | Jeffrey L. Wirrig 151, 54.91%; Deb Warner 124, 45.09% |
| 2015-11-03 | Mayor | Donald Stump 145, 100.0% |
| 2015-11-03 | Council | Galen A. Balmert 112, 70.44% |
| 2015-11-03 | Clerk/Treasurer | Brenda Selanders 170, 100.0% |
Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.
Auditor of State record
- No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
- Agreed Upon Procedures, 2022 to 2023, released 2025-04-22
The county
Darke County: 16 ZIP codes, 40 cities, villages and townships, 52,318 people.
Nearby places
Rain and snow
How much has actually fallen on Bradford, day by day, from 1893 to now. Daily totals, not averages.
- rain, last 30 days
- 1.15 in
- 2026-09-30 to 2026-10-29
- rain so far in 2026
- 39.8 in
- 5.5 in above normal for the date
- snow so far in 2026
- 16.6 in
- a normal year brings 20.5 in
- a normal year
- 40.4 in
- average of 30 years, 1991-2020
| Month | Rain (in) | Snow (in) | Days counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | 1.15 | — | 29 |
| September 2026 | 3.66 | — | 30 |
| August 2026 | 9.95 | — | 31 |
| July 2026 | 2.89 | — | 31 |
| June 2026 | 4.07 | — | 30 |
| May 2026 | 7.19 | — | 31 |
| April 2026 | 2.72 | — | 30 |
| March 2026 | 5.72 | 1.4 | 31 |
| February 2026 | 0.97 | 3.1 | 28 |
| January 2026 | 1.52 | 12.1 | 31 |
| December 2025 | 1.89 | 11.1 | 31 |
| November 2025 | 1.55 | 3.8 | 30 |
| Wettest year | 2011 — 53.6 in |
|---|---|
| Driest year | 1963 — 25.2 in |
| Snowiest year | 1912 — 45.8 in |
| Wettest day on record | 29 June 1980 — 5.26 in |
| Heaviest snowfall in a day | 26 November 1950 — 16.96 in |
| Deepest snow on the ground | 27 November 1950 — 18.66 in |
Estimated, not measured. No rain gauge has ever stood inside Bradford, so every figure here is worked out from the gauges around it - the nearest ones weighted most. Treat them as close estimates rather than readings.
48,583 days of records, 1893-01-01 to 2026-10-29. Source: NOAA NCEI GHCN-Daily, 3,240 gauges in and around Ohio. A day is "gauged" when a gauge standing inside the boundary reported it, and the value is the mean of those gauges. Otherwise it is interpolated by inverse distance from every gauge reporting within 50 miles. Nothing is carried forward, back-filled or smoothed. Against NOAA nClimDiv county monthly precipitation over 136,848 complete county-months (checked 2026-10-31): correlation 0.9515, median absolute difference 0.217 in a month. Built 2026-10-31 from the Cracked Buckeye precipitation archive. Snow is the softer number — snowfall is measured by hand with a ruler, no agency publishes a gridded county snowfall series, and blowing snow defeats every observer.
Environmental permits and filings
What Ohio EPA has on file for Bradford: permits, inspections, violations, cleanups and the state loans behind sewer and water work. Every line links to the agency's own document.
- facilities and sites on file
- 5
- those placed on the map inside Bradford
| Program | Facilities and sites |
|---|---|
| Air pollution | 2 |
| Hazardous waste | 1 |
| Site assessment | 1 |
| State sewer loans | 1 |
Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.
Quick answers
What county is Bradford, Ohio in?
Bradford is a village in Darke County, Ohio, with 1,796 residents.
When was Bradford, Ohio founded?
Bradford was laid out 1865; incorporated 1871. Source
How did Bradford, Ohio get its name?
Named for Tom Bradford, an official of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Source
What ZIP code is Bradford, Ohio?
Most of Bradford is in ZIP code 45308.
Where does Bradford, Ohio get its water?
The main water source for Bradford (Bradford Village): Mostly private wells.
Cite this page
Cite this page as:
Cracked Buckeye, "Bradford, Darke County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/bradford/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].
How to cite · Report a correction · Built 2026-10-31
