Bedford and Bedford Township - Hardcoverby Janet Caldwell (Author) Bedford Township, labeled "a most excellent township" by surveyors of the Western Reserve lands, had an abundance of hardwood forests, water for mill sites, and superb farmland. Transportation played a major role in its success when Bedford developed as a stagecoach stop along the trade route between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. When the railroad arrived, the township and the village at the center thrived. Industry giants