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.

A successful legal challenge brought the county seat back to Lake Butler, and an 1885 referendum reaffirmed the move by 19 votes.

[5] Yet another referendum was held in 1887, and saw the courthouse and county seat moved back to Starke, where it would remain.

[5] The county was home to numerous citrus farms in its early days prior to the Great Freeze in the winter of 1894–1895.

Even after the freeze, Starke and Lawtey continued to be major regional agricultural producers, with the primary exports being cotton, tobacco, and strawberries.

[5] Significant growth would come to the county during the World War II era, with the construction of U.S. Route 301 and nearby Camp Blanding.

Ted Bundy was executed at the prison in 1989, while Starke and Bradford County faced a series lawsuits in the 2000s over a cross on the city's water tower and a Ten Commandments statue in front of the county courthouse.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 28,303 people, 9,318 households, and 5,882 families residing in the county.

[18] According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans account for a majority of registered voters in Bradford County.

For most of its history, Bradford County voted heavily Democratic at the local, state, and federal level.