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A special place of learning began in Bradford, Massachusetts, on the banks of the Merrimack River in 1803. It was christened Bradford Academy and it grew and flourished for almost two hundred years. A new identity and a new name came in 1932 when the academy became Bradford Junior College. For almost forty years, BJC held a distinguished position as one of the best of the nation's junior colleges. A second, almost revolutionary, transformation occurred in 1971. Bradford became coeducational and earned the right to grant the baccalaureate degree with a four-year course of study. Since 1971, the college has maintained a reputation for innovative teaching with a rigorous liberal arts curriculum within a small, caring community of scholars and learners. In the millennial year 2000, Bradford completed 197 years of service to academia. With change on the horizon, it is timely to view this special place, with its special people, called Bradford.
About the author
Dr. Patricia Trainor O'Malley, professor of history at Bradford since 1975, grew up just a few streets away from the college. The author of numerous other volumes in Arcadia's Images of America series, she has put together this last look at Bradford College as her final salute to her academic home.
