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Jungle Park Cabins and Café, Bloomingdale, Ind., 8 miles north of Rockville on U. S. 41 (82791)Photo: Tichnor Brothers, Publisher · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Bloomingdale

Bloomingdale dates to 1825, and 56% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1880.

1825founded
0on the National Register
56%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bloomingdale’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bloomingdale began

When was Bloomingdale founded?

1825

Bloomingdale dates its founding to 1825 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 355 in 18802020 census: 269201 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1860.The full story ↓

What stands out about Bloomingdale’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Bloomingdale’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 528 in 1910; 269 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsEstablished in 1825: 201 years of Bloomingdale.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bloomingdale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bloomingdale’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewKatherine E. Lamb (Business Woman's Mag…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Bloomingdale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bloomingdale.

Read it all →

The town of Bloomingdale was platted in 1825 or 1826, south of its present location. Originally it was named Bloomfield. A post office called Bloomingdale has been in operation since 1860. The Friends' Bloomingdale Academy was in operation from 1846 to 1916.

The William Hill Polygonal Barn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

On June 17, 2021, a magnitude 3.8 earthquake occurred 2 miles west of Bloomingdale. No damage was reported.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Bloomingdale, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 528

Peaked at 528 in 1910; 269 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bloomingdale’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Bloomingdale, 1825 to 1986

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1825
    FoundingBloomingdale is established
  3. 1860Post officeThe Bloomingdale post office opens
  4. 1885Born hereWarder Clyde Allee is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1903In the archiveKatherine E. Lamb (Business Woman's Mag, 1903)
  7. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 528
  8. 1914Born hereMaury Newlin is born here
  9. 1930In the archiveJungle Park Cabins and Café, Bloomingdale, Ind., 8 miles north of Rockville on U. S. 41 (…
  10. 1986On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bloomingdale, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s2 items
Katherine E. Lamb (Business Woman's Mag, 1903)1903Katherine E. Lamb (Business Woman's Mag, 1903)Jungle Park Cabins and Café, Bloomingdale, Ind., 8 miles north of Rockville on U. S. 41 (82791)c. 1930Jungle Park Cabins and Café, Bloomingdale, Ind., 8 mi…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
A walk though town in 20202020A walk though town in 2020William Hill Polygonal Barn2012William Hill Polygonal Barn
On the map

Bloomingdale on the map in 1986

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bloomingdale.

Bloomingdale on the 1986 USGS map1986Paris sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bloomingdale.

Every building

Bloomingdale, building by building, 1910

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Bloomingdale fire insurance map, 1910, sheet 11910Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Katherine E. Lamb (Business Woman's Mag, 1903)
Retake this viewKatherine E. Lamb (Business Woman's Mag, 1903), 1903

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bloomingdale’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Bloomingdale

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Warder Clyde AlleeAmerican zoologist and ecologist · b. 1885
M
Maury NewlinAmerican baseball player · b. 1914

Questions about Bloomingdale’s history

What year was Bloomingdale founded?

In 1825, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bloomingdale’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1880 counted 355 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.