Most of Bloomsdale was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1970 on, and the census since 1970.
Bloomsdale was known as early as 1839 as "La Fourche à Duclos", meaning "the fork of Duclos" and named for the creek by the same name. Its parish priest, a Father Blume, wished his parishioners to all reside on one side of the stream, and so bought land for a settlement on what is now called Establishment Creek moved to the present site of Bloomsdale. One account has it that "Blumesdale" was mailed to Washington, D.C., as the name of the town's post office. But the name was illegible, so the story goes, so Washington called the office Bloomsdale. More likely, Washington anglicized the German name Blume ("flower") to Bloom. Either way, the name honors Father Blume.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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