Bloomfield Township history

The Bloomfield Academy in 1810 was one of the first of a good number of private schools which had an excellent reputation.

The town separated from Newark in 1812, being incorporated as the Township of Bloomfield, taking its name from the Presbyterian parish named for General Joseph Bloomfield.

The surveyors began their work in 1815 to create townships by establishing a base line and a meridian line.

A post office was established in 1816.

There were a number of paths used by Native Americans. (These were even noted on the 1817 survey maps.) The most prominent of these in the Bloomfield area roughly followed the route of today’s Woodward Avenue (Saginaw Trail). However, it was initially not at all suitable for even wagon travel.

In 1818 the government land office was opened in Detroit right after the initial land survey.

The Pioneer families generally arrived by way of the water route over Lake Erie by steamship having arrived in Buffalo, NY via the Erie Canal which was first in use in 1821.

In 1827 Bloomfield Township as a governmental entity was officially chartered as one of 25 town-ships that comprise Oakland County.

A Bloomfield engineer, Ephraim Morris, designed the inclined planes for the Morris Canal which opened in 1831 and brought further commerce.

In 1837 Luis Peloubet opened a musical instrument factory which later made well-known melodeons and organs.

A Railroad line was run from Detroit through Royal Oak arriv-ing at Birmingham in 1838.

The line was continued from Birmingham going to the northwest and arriving at Pontiac in 1842.

Later, the New Jersey Legislature passed the Township Act of 1846, further formalizing township governments.

In 1849, Bloomfield was one of the first towns in New Jersey to adopt the Free School Act and authorize taxes for school purposes.

The size of the farms would vary but looking at the 1850 products of agriculture forms, an aver-age Bloomfield Township farm would have; 3 Horses, 4 Milch Cows, 2 working Oxen, 40 Sheep, 4 Swine, and 4 Other Cattle.

Beginning in the 1870's, banks were founded and other town services arrived:

More schools were built, with the High School coming in 1871.

Residence of A.G. Dewey, Bloomfield Twp. from the 1877 History of Oakland County, MI

Sometime in the early to mid 1920’s the City of Pontiac an-nexed 2 Sq. miles of the township on the north boundary.

In 1923, the bus from Paterson to Lackawanna Railroad along Broad Street opened Brookdale for residences instead of farms.

The Board of Recreation evolved in 1928 from the Community House project of the World War Memorial Association.

In 1936 the De Camp Bus Line began a route through Bloomfield to New York City.

In 1950 the remains of a mastodon were discovered in the township in the pond on Charing Cross Rd. between Woodward Ave. and Kensington Rd.

Established Residential Community 1960 – Present

The sesquicentennial in 1962 saw the start of the Historical Society of Bloomfield.

The national bicentennial in 1976 led to the formation of the Cultural Commission and Oakside Cultural Center.

According to 1994-95 census estimates, blacks, Asians, and Latinos are the fastest growing groups in Bloomfield.