The Bloomfield post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, South Bloomfield (1852) and North Bloomfield (1900), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 4,781180 years
How historic is Bloomfield?
B−
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Bloomfield post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Bloomfield’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bloomfield is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #207 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bloomfield’s overall grade.
Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bloomfield’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bloomfield. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893Geneva 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.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Bloomfield had its own post office from 1846 to 1874. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Bloomfield
1846–1874
South Bloomfield
1852–1852
Bloomfield
1899–1906
North Bloomfield
1900–1906
Pell Lake
1926–today
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
North BloomfieldPell LakePioneer Estates
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bloomfield
BloomfieldOld Bloomfield
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Bloomfield, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bloomfield yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Bloomfield is a town in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,778 at the 2020 census. The village of Bloomfield was formed from part of the town on December 20, 2011. The census-designated place of Lake Ivanhoe and unincorporated community of North Bloomfield are located in the town.
Its first post office opened in 1846.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Bloomfield in 1882
Passages that mention Bloomfield, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Walworth County, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources...its war record, biographical sketches, portraits of prominent men and early settlers1882 · page 835Read the page →
Read the text
On January 23, 1844, Township 1, Range 18 east, being the southeast quarter of the town of Geneva, was, by act of Legislature, set off and incorporated under the name of Bloomfield. Bloomfield is the extreme southeastern town in Walworth County, and is bounded north by the town of Lyons ; south by the town of Richmond, Illinois ; east by the town of Wheatland, Kenosha County ; and west by the town of Linn. It contains thirty-six square miles of varied and diversified country, well watered, and admirably adapted to agricultural pursuits, Bloom Prairie, in the southwestern portion of the town, being considered the richest land in the county.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Walworth County, Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources...its war record, biographical sketches, portraits of prominent men and early settlers1882 · page 950Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Linn is designated in the Government survey as Town 1, Range 17 east. It is bounded, north by the town of Geneva ; east by Bloomfield ; south by the State line ; and west by the town of Walworth. It was formerly embraced in the town of Geneva, as established in 1838, which at that time took in the four townships making the south-east quarter of the county, viz.: Bloomfield, Hudson, Geneva and Linn. It was set off and incorporated as a town, under its present name, by act of the Territorial Legislature, January 23, 1844. It was named in honor of Senator Linn, an early patriotic statesman of Missouri.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Bloomfield, 1846 to 1906
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Bloomfield post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Bloomfield rank for history?
Bloomfield is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #207 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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.
How old are the homes in Bloomfield?
11% of Bloomfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
