thumb|right|Bradford County Courthouse in [[Starke, Florida|Starke]]
thumb|[[American Atheists bench and Ten Commandments display at the courthouse]]
Bradford County is a county in the north central region of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,303. Its county seat and largest city is Starke. The Florida State Prison is located in an unincorporated part of the county.
History
New River County, as it was known at the time, was created in 1858 from segments of Columbia and Alachua counties. It was renamed Bradford County in 1861 in honor of Confederate Captain Richard Bradford, who fought in the American Civil War and was killed in the Battle of Santa Rosa Island, becoming the first officer from Florida to die during the Civil War.
During the county's early history, Lake Butler served as the county seat. However, the growth of Starke as an important city on the Fernandina to Cedar Key railroad led to an 1875 vote on the location of the county seat, with Starke winning by 46 votes. A successful legal challenge brought the county seat back to Lake Butler, and an 1885 referendum reaffirmed the move by 19 votes.
Yet another referendum was held in 1887, and saw the courthouse and county seat moved back to Starke, where it would remain. The dispute brought on the attention of the Florida Legislature, and in 1921, the western portion of Bradford County and Lake Butler were separated to form Union County. It is the third-smallest county in Florida by land area and second-smallest by total area.
Adjacent counties
- Baker County, Florida - north
- Clay County, Florida - east
- Putnam County, Florida - southeast
- Alachua County, Florida - south
- Union County, Florida - west
- Duval County, Florida - northeast
National protected area
- Osceola National Forest (part)
Transportation
Bradford County does not have any interstate connections; the nearest connection is with I-75 to the west of the county.
Bradford County's main railroad line is the CSX Wildwood Subdivision. Along this line within Starke, Wannee Junction serves as the northeastern terminus of the CSX Brooker Subdivision. One notable major rail trail is the Palatka-Lake Butler State Trail, which used to be the main line for the Georgia Southern and Florida Railway.
The county shares Keystone Heights Airport with neighboring Clay County. The nearest regional airport is Gainesville Regional Airport, and the nearest international airport is Jacksonville International Airport.