A Brief History of Bloomfield
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17th and 18th Centuries
The area now known as "Bloomfield'
was a part of Newark in 1666 when that town was settled.
The land had been bought from the Yantecaw, a subtribe
of the Lenni-Lenape Indians. English settlers came
from Connecticut to the southern end of town, and
Dutch settlers from the Hudson River Valley set up
farms in the Stone House Plains section, now Brookdale.
The earliest roads followed Indian
trails. The Old Road to Newark (now Franklin Street),
the Road to Newtown and Second River (now Belleville
Avenue) and the Road to Cranetown (now Montclair)
became important routes. The three waterways, Second
River, Third River and Toney's Brook, were valuable
sources of power for the first industries - sawmills
and gristmills. Paper mills and tanneries followed.
Sandstone was quarried and exported to New York City
as early as 1765 for the construction of brownstone
houses.
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The settlers established the first school
in 1758. It was public but not free, being open to pupils
who could afford to pay a small tuition fee.
During the Revolutionary War, no fighting
occurred within the limits of the present township, but
Bloomfield sons fought in New Jersey engagements. The area
did experience foraging raids by British and Hessian troops.
Patriots entertained George Washington on several occasions.
In 1796, the congregation of Old First Church
(now Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green) was formed.
It honored the Revolutionary War General, Joseph Bloomfield,
by naming the newly formed parish after him - the
Presbyterian Society of Bloomfield. The beautiful church
building which was started in 1797 is still standing at
the northern end of the Green. The same year, the Green
was officially purchased for $200.00, although it had been
used as a military training field and parade ground since
1775. It was placed on the National Register of Historic
Places in 1978.
The 19th Century
In the nineteenth century, the industrious
people of Bloomfield brought about many changes.
The Newark and Pompton Turnpike (now
Bloomfield Avenue), started in 1806, fulfilled the need
for better  transportation,
and Bloomfield became a commercial center with taverns,
wheelwrights, blacksmiths and wagon makers. In the 1830's
there were six gristmills, two cotton factories, five sawmills,
four copper mills, three paper mills, one paint mill, two
calico print works, three woolen mills, several shoe factories
and seventeen merchants in town. The Oakes Woolen Mill was
founded in 1830 and lasted until the 1940's, at one time
being the largest industry in town. In 1837 Luis Peloubet
opened a musical instrument factory which later made well-known
melodeons and organs. The population in 1820 was 3,085;
in 1830, it was 4,309.
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. At that time it covered
20.52 square miles (now 5.4 square miles) and included several
villages which left Bloomfield during the century. Their
names and dates of separation were Belleville (1839), Montclair
(1868), Woodside (1871), Franklin (1874) and Glen Ridge
(1895). In 1812, a Justice of the Peace and four constables
were appointed. A post office was established in 1816. In
1812, a Township Committee was set up as the governing body.
Later, the New Jersey Legislature passed the Township Act
of 1846, further formalizing township governments.
A Bloomfield engineer, Ephraim Morris, designed
the inclined planes for the Morris Canal which opened in
1831 and brought further commerce. It also provided recreational
diversion in the form of swimming in the summer and ice
skating in the winter. Other improvements in transportation
in the century included the first railroad from Newark in
1856, the New York/Montclair/Greenwood Lake Railroad in
1872 and the first street car line in 1867.
Beginning in the 1870's, banks were founded
and other town services arrived: gaslights in 1873, a Fire
Department in 1883, telephone service in 1884, water pipes
in 1884, free delivery of mail in 1892, electric lights
in 1896 and sewage lines in 1898.
During those years, the population grew
with new immigrants from Italy, Poland
and Germany, among other lands, joining the original families
in the town. The expanding industries welcomed the workers.
More people and improved transportation led to the construction
of many homes, hotels and boardinghouses. Bloomfield became
a thriving suburban community. The population in 1870 was
4,580; in 1890, it was 7,708.
 Bloomfield
men served in the Civil War, and the factories supplied
Union forces, with Oakes Woolen Mill providing cloth for
the soldiers' uniforms. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument,
erected during the town's Centennial Celebration in 1912,
commemorated those who served in the war.
Schools,
churches and cultural organizations burgeoned. The Bloomfield
Academy in 1810 was one of the first of a good number of
private schools which had an excellent reputation. The forerunner
of Bloomfield College, the German Theological School of
Newark, took over the old academy building in 1868.
In
1849, Bloomfield was one of the first towns in New Jersey
to adopt  the
Free School Act and authorize taxes for school purposes.
More schools were built, with the High School coming in
1871. Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Parish opened a parochial
school in 1878, the church having
been established in 1874.
The
first newspaper, the Bloomfield Gazette, was published in
1872, and the newspaper which later became the Independent
Press started in 1883.
The
20th Century
In 1900, Bloomfield became a town with a Mayor-and-Council-type
of government under the Town Act of the New Jersey State
Legislature. In 1955, a revision of this form was passed
by local referendum which set up a municipal government
composed not only of a Mayor and six members of a Town Council,
all elected by popular vote, but also a Town Administrator
appointed by the Mayor and Council. This is the form Bloomfield
is operating under today (1983). In July of 1981, by a special
election, it changed its designation to "Township"
again. The population in 1900 was 9,668; in 1910 it was
15,070.
During
World War 1, there were 1,200 men and 15 nurses on active
duty, giving the town a bigger percentage of participation
than the average in the country. Women as well as men worked
in munition factories, industrial firms and government agencies.
Volunteers, young and old, accomplished many tasks for the
war effort. The population in 1920 was 22,019.
By
1930, the population reached 38,000, with 68 industries
employing 6,000. The Board of Trade had been set up in 1902
and became the Chamber of Commerce in 1923. The Police Department,
which had been established around 1900, had the first officer
assigned to traffic duty in 1909. During World War I, bus
and trolley lines vied for passengers. In 1923, the bus
from Paterson to Lackawanna Railroad along Broad Street
opened Brookdale for residences instead of farms. In 1936
the De Camp Bus Line began a route through Bloomfield to
New York City. Four- and five-story apartment buildings
appeared among the houses.
New
schools and churches were built to serve the enlarging population
in new neighborhoods. The first Jewish temple was organized
in 1915, and a second in 1955. Since 1902, the Jarvie Memorial
Library, privately endowed, had served the townspeople,
but in 1924 it offered the books and endowment to the town,
and the Bloomfield Free Public Library was established.
Its own building was completed in 1927, and an addition
in 1967. It became the Northwest Area Library in 1965. The
Board of Recreation evolved in 1928 from the Community House
project of the World War Memorial Association. Many civic
and service clubs were founded in the 1920's and 1930's.
World
War II saw Bloomfield's industrial plants such as Charms
Candy Company, General Electric, Lehn and Fink, Schering,
Scientific Glass and Westinghouse rated among the upper
10% of those in the eastern part of the nation engaged in
the production of vital war materials. Again, civic organizations
and volunteers gave great support to the war effort. The
population in 1940 was 41,623; in 1950, it was 49,313.
In
the second half of the 20th Century, Bloomfield has remained
a vital community, both residential and industrial in character.
The completion of the Garden State Parkway in 1952 brought
better automobile access. New housing included garden apartments
and high-rise buildings. The town's Department of Planning
and Development has implemented the Master Plan of 1949
and subsequent updates of 1965 and 1977. Another large company
came to Bloomfield when the Lummus Corporation set up its
international headquarters in 1968. The population in 1970
was 52,029; in 1980, it was 47,792.
Through
the years, Bloomfield citizens have shown strong community
spirit. There have been festive Independence Day celebrations
each year. The Centennial Celebration in 1912 brought the
Soldiers and Sailors Monument. 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. In 1978,
there was enthusiastic support for the Festival of Nations
honoring the people from many ethnic groups who have contributed
so much to Bloomfield. It continues with "pride in
its past, faith in its future." (Ina Campbell, Reference
Department, Bloomfield Public Library)
Bloomfield
has a small middle-class managerial population, but remains
 overwhelmingly
working class, with many senior citizens and semi-skilled
workers. The town is divided into three wards. The first
and second wards are in the central and northern parts of
the town, respectively. The third ward is located in the
southern end or in what used to be the manufacturing and
industrial part of the town. In 1992, the population was
estimated at 45,243, representing a significant decline
(-6816) from a total population of 52,059 in 1970. Eighty-eight
percent (88.69%) of the total population is white. The rest
includes blacks, American Indians, Asians (primarily immigrants
from India, Pakistan, China, and the Philippines), and Latinos
(Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, and Peruvians).
According to 1994-95 census estimates, blacks, Asians, and
Latinos are the fastest growing groups in Bloomfield. Twenty-five
percent of the population has finished high school, and
18 percent indicated having completed college and beyond.
The median household income was $39,822 in 1989, and per
capita income was estimated at $18,722 (Hornor, E.R., (ed.)
New Jersey Municipal Data Book 1991-1995. Palo Alto, CA:
Information Publications.)
Young
professionals from a variety of ethnic backgrounds have
begun to move into Bloomfield and purchase homes in various
sections of town. This trend is expected to continue as
the town experiences economic changes. The 2000 Census
will yield new data and show the new demographic and socioeconomic
changes taking place in Bloomfield.
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