Bradley, WV (West Virginia), is a community in Raleigh County named in honor of General Omar Bradley, a field commander in North Africa and Europe during World War II and a General of the Army.
A handful of Confederate soldiers were allegedly killed in a skirmish at Bradley during the Civil War, though little is known of the event or the soldiers involved. Their remains are thought to be interred near the site of breastworks near Blue Circle Ranch Road.
The community was first settled in the early 1800s by farmers opening the wilderness along the former Giles, Fayette & Kanawha Turnpike route.
Its population has been estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau at 2,371 residents in 2000 and 1,928 in 2020. It is fewer than 10 miles from the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.
Lodging near Bradley, West Virginia
Location
Bradley is located on the US-19 expressway five miles north of Beckley, West Virginia, and two miles south of Mount Hope, West Virginia, and the Bechtel National Scout Reserve, site of the National Boy Scout Jamboree.
Higher Education
The community is the home of Appalachian Bible College, a private, non-denominational Christian Bible college that generally serves independent churches within the fundamental Bible and Baptist associations. The school was founded as Appalachian Bible Institute in 1950 in Whitesville, West Virginia, and is accredited by the U.S. Higher Learning Commission and the Association for Biblical Higher Education.
The college's Alpine Ministries program invites students and families to explore the region's national parks and outdoor-recreation areas.
Map of Bradley, West Virginia
Regional Information
Bradley is located in the New River Gorge Region of southern West Virginia.
