Bedford City continued to gain prestige as the agricultural, commercial, industrial and administrative center for the area, and it attracted several college preparatory schools during the late 1890s and early 1900s: Belmont Seminary, Jeter Institute, Randolph Macon Academy, and Virginia Business College. Not only did the opening of the schools bring new students into town, it also made the "Liberty Improvement" (one of the several subdivisions of Victorian-era middle-class homes built during the expansion) a perfect location for the school teachers. These homes can be seen today in the area around Avenel House.
Although the expansion was short-lived, Bedford City continued to be an agricultural and manufacturing center for many years to come, and evolved into a typical American small town. Bedford City was also home to some of the brave soldiers that fought at the D-Day Invasion; known as the "Bedford Boys," these men served with Company A, 116th Infantry, and lost the most soldiers of any town during the invasion. Their sacrifice was immortalized in the 2008 film "The Town They Left Behind."
In 1968, the name was changed again to the City of Bedford, and the town became in independent city under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Another round of economic expansion and change ensued, and today the Town of Bedford remains in transition, becoming a small cultural mecca, with art, music, and design taking center stage. Artists from all over the Blue Ridge are settling into the crofts and studios of centertown Bedford, and live roots music can be found in the local restaurants several nights a week. The City is still home to several cutting-edge textile, specialty manufacturing, and graphics industries, and is working actively to recruit Information Technology, green power, and light manufacturing jobs.
