Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1836.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bloomfield’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bloomfield is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bloomfield’s overall grade.
Missouri towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Missouri town has 2.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bloomfield’s 9.7 sits above most of its state (72% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points). Two sources give 1824.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Bloomfield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first permanent settlement at Bloomfield was made in 1824 at the site of a previous Native American community. Bloomfield was platted in 1835. The community was named from the wildflowers in the vicinity. A post office called Bloomfield has been in operation since 1836.
The Stoddard County Courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bloomfield. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1934Bloomfield sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bloomfield.
Every building
Bloomfield, building by building, 1910–1919
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 year, then a sheet.
1910Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the National Register
2 historic places in Bloomfield
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
In 1824, according to Wikidata. Bloomfield’s post office opened in 1836, and the census of 1870 counted 379 people here.
How does Bloomfield rank for history?
Bloomfield is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Bloomfield?
Two places: the Stoddard County Courthouse (listed 1984) and the Henry Miller House (2018).
How old are the homes in Bloomfield?
21% of Bloomfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1962.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.
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