Bradford

Bradford, county, northern Pennsylvania, U.S., bordered to the north by New York state. It consists of rugged hills on the Allegheny Plateau and is drained by the Susquehanna and Chemung rivers and Sugar, Towanda, Wappasening, and Wyalusing creeks. Mount Pisgah State Park is located on Stephen Foster Lake.

Spanish Hill, near Sayre and Athens at the confluence of the Chemung and Susquehanna rivers, was one of the first sites visited by Europeans in their exploration of Pennsylvania. This strategic point was also the site of Tioga, one of the largest Seneca Indian towns in northern Pennsylvania; the town was destroyed by white settlers in 1778 in retaliation for the Wyoming Massacre (July 3, 1778).

The county was created in 1810 and named for William Bradford, a politician and jurist who served in George Washington’s cabinet. The county seat is Towanda. The economy depends on manufacturing (metal products and photographic equipment) and agriculture (livestock, dairy products, and field crops). Area 1,151 square miles (2,980 square km). Pop. (2000) 62,761; (2010) 62,622.