The story
Read it all →How Bloomfield came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Bloomfield.
Bloomfield was founded in 1890. It was named for Bloomfield Dyer, the original owner of the town site.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Bloomfield
Bloomfield’s post office opened in 1890, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1900.
1890first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers
How Bloomfield began, and where its name came from
When was Bloomfield founded?
1890
The Bloomfield post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 678 in 19002020 census: 986136 years
How did Bloomfield get its name?
Bloomfield was named for Bloomfield Dyer, the original owner of the town site.
Founding year: the first Bloomfield post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
What stands out about Bloomfield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Bloomfield are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,467 in 1940; 986 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1900 to 1920, drew every building in Bloomfield.Old housesHalf of Bloomfield’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Bloomfield’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bloomfield’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Bloomfield, census by census
Peaked at 1,467 in 1940; 986 people lived here in 2020.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bloomfield’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Bloomfield, building by building, 1900–1920
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.
1900Sheet 1 of 1Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Bloomfield, 1890 to 1975
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Bloomfield, decade by decade
2010
2010
2010
2005On the map
Bloomfield on the map, 1974 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bloomfield. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1974Bloomfield sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bloomfield.
Places that used to be
Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Bloomfield’s post office has been open since 1890.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bloomfield Trailer Court
Gone or out of use
Bloomfieldlocale
1cemetery inside Bloomfield
Bloomfield
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Bloomfield’s history
What year was Bloomfield founded?
The Bloomfield post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), Wikidata (1), 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.