Sumter Today: The famous Bradford Watermelon has its roots right here in Sumter

Maybe nothing says summer better than watermelon, and the Bradford Watermelon, known for its sweet taste and delicate texture, was a coveted melon in the late 1800s in the South.
The legendary Bradford was tasty, but it didn’t ship well and all but disappeared by the 1920s.
Now, eight generations later, a great-great-great-grandson of its creator is bringing it back.
Sumter’s Nat Bradford and USC Professor David Shields spoke at the Sumter County Museum last night about the local family’s “interesting and dangerous history of the Bradford Watermelon.