History & local legend
Bedford’s Civil War monument stands across from the courthouse at Penn and Juliana streets. Dedicated on July 4, 1890, it was partly funded by local schoolchildren and became known as the Old Man on the Monument.
A local legend gives the soldier a nighttime life away from his pedestal. A twelve-year-old Bedford contributor recorded the story after hearing it from an older resident: when few people are around, figures from two of the town’s monuments can climb down and walk through the streets.
If someone meets the Civil War soldier and asks about his clothing, he has an ordinary explanation ready. He says he is in town for a reenactment.
