Bradley was incorporated as a town in 1834, with lumbering and sawmilling as the principal industries. It was named for Bradley Blackman, an early settler.[5] By the 1850s the town had 14 single-saw mills, three gang-saw (multiple-saw) mills, four clapboard mills, four lath mills, and three shingle mills. The only village was at Greatworks. The Maine Forest & Logging Museum, located at Leonard's Mills, was established in 1960 to preserve the logging history of Maine.
