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House in Bloomsbury NJ Kerr FlickrPhoto: Doug Kerr on Flickr · CC BY-SA 2.0
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History · Bloomsbury

Bloomsbury’s post office opened in 1816, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1880.

1816first post office
0on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Doug Kerr on Flickr · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Bloomsbury began

When was Bloomsbury founded?

1816

The Bloomsbury post office opened in 1816, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1905. Another post office, Bloomsburg (1821), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 585 in 18802020 census: 792210 years
Founding year: the first Bloomsbury post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1905.

What stands out about Bloomsbury’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18905 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1970. Watch Bloomsbury change.Old housesHalf of Bloomsbury’s homes were built before 1949.Deep rootsA post office since 1816: 210 years of Bloomsbury.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bloomsbury’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAsbury (Village); Bloomsbury (Village): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Bloomsbury on the map, 1890 to 1970

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bloomsbury. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Bloomsbury on the 1890 USGS mapBloomsbury on the 1932 USGS mapBloomsbury on the 1943 USGS mapBloomsbury on the 1955 USGS mapBloomsbury on the 1970 USGS map1890Easton 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 Bloomsbury.

The story so far

Bloomsbury, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bloomsbury yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Bloomsbury is a borough in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 792, a decrease of 78 (−9.0%) from the 2010 census count of 870, which in turn reflected a decline of 16 (−1.8%) from the 886 counted in the 2000 census. Bloomsbury was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 30, 1905, from portions of Bethlehem Township. Bloomsbury was once known as "Johnson's Iron Works", owned by Robert Johnson, on the north bank of the river. The current name is derived either from the Bloom family, influential in the early history of the town, or from the iron ore processed into masses of wrou…

Its first post office opened in 1816. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 870 to 792 (-9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Bloomsbury, 1816 to 1890

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1816Post officeThe Bloomsbury post office opens
  3. 1821Post officeThe Bloomsburg post office opens
  4. 1829Born hereJohn T. Bird is born here
  5. 1836Post officeThe Bloomsburg post office closes
  6. 1873In the archiveAsbury (Village); Bloomsbury (Village)
  7. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bloomsbury, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Asbury (Village); Bloomsbury (Village)1873Asbury (Village); Bloomsbury (Village)
Today5 recent
Bloombury, NJ 302022Bloombury, NJ 30A whole box of orange pencils KOH-I-NOOR brand2016A whole box of orange pencils KOH-I-NOOR brandHouse in Bloomsbury NJ Kerr Flickr2012House in Bloomsbury NJ Kerr FlickrCensus Bureau map of2008Census Bureau map ofMapBloomsbury 019 nj2005Bloomsbury 019 nj
Every building

Bloomsbury, building by building, 1909–1915

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.

Bloomsbury fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
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.

Asbury (Village); Bloomsbury (Village)
Retake this viewAsbury (Village); Bloomsbury (Village), 1873

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Bloomsbury, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 890

Between 585 and 890 people in every census since 1880.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Bloomsbury’s post office has been open since 1816. Another post office, Bloomsburg, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bloomsbury
1816–today
Bloomsburg
1821–1836
18101920today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Greenwich Township2 historic placesB+Bethlehem TownshipIts storyBFranklin Township2 historic placesAPohatcong Township5 historic placesA−

Questions about Bloomsbury’s history

What year was Bloomsbury founded?

The Bloomsbury post office opened in 1816, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1905.

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 (6), 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.