BlockBefore
Decorative drawing: a small American settlement seen from a low hill. Not a photograph of this place.

Bloomfield, Ohio

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1905 and the latest in 2002. It stands in Ludlow Township. It lies in ZIP code area 45767. It stands on Graham Ridge. The Survey maps it on the Rinard Mills quadrangle.

Bloomfield within Washington County

Then and now

1905 to 2002

The same ground, surveyed 97 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Bloomfield, surveyed 2002
Topographic sheet of Bloomfield, surveyed 1905

Compare 1905 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

16 sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

8,169 words on this township

History of Washington County, Ohio, published 1881 names this settlement in its chapter on Ludlow Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

As is, unfortunately, often the case, the township records for the earlier political history of Ludlow are wanting. They were destroyed by fire. Consequently, dependence must be placed in the uncertain memory of man for what few early township officers he may chance to recall. The earlier elections were held principally at the house of Christopher Dickson, sr. This continued for a great many years. Afterwards a school-house was * used for the purpose, then a log town house was built

Passage source: History of Washington County, Ohio, published 1881.

Christopher Dickson, sr., came in 1813 or 1814, and settled on the hill above Bloomfield, with his wife, who was Fanny Lewis, and children: Christopher, Jane, Elizabeth, Susan, and Mary. Afterwards Sarah, Jemima, Lavina, Nancy, Cythia, Alexander, and Jacob were born. All are now dead but Jacob, Christopher, jr., Susan and Cynthia. Jacob lives on the right side of the Little Muskingum, a short distance above Bloomfield. Cynthia is the widow of John Thomas, and lives farther down the stream. Susan is the widow of Truman Payne and lives near by. Christopher, who was born in 1808, lives just above Bloomfield. In 1834 he married Ann Elizabeth Snyder, who was born in 1815 and died in 1878. The children are Amanda, Albert, Lavina, Cynthia, Iewis, Margaret E., Abner, Clarissa, and Selena. Lewis, Cynthia, Albert, and Lavina are dead. Amanda became Mrs. John Woods and lives in Pennsylvania. Margaret married R. L. White and lives in Indiana. Abner married Mary E. Kirkpatrick. Christopher Dickson, jr., has been honored with many Offices in the gift of his township. His father died about thirty years ago aged not far from eighty years; he lies in the Bloomfield cemetery.

Passage source: History of Washington County, Ohio, published 1881.

One of the later settlers to the township is A. J. Watson, who came in 1878 and began keeping a store at Bloomfield. He was born October 30, 1855; his parents are James and Maria Watson, the former a native of Scotland. In 1880 he married Anna K. Poole. Al though so short a time in the neighborhood, he has been already selected to fill township offices, that of clerk and treasurer.

Passage source: History of Washington County, Ohio, published 1881.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Ludlow Township - it names this place 8 more 8 times.

Fires near this place

18 since 2001

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 18 fires within 5 miles of Bloomfield between 2001 and 2020, burning about 109 acres in total. None started naturally. 6 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Arson/incendiarism6
Debris and open burning6
Missing data/not specified/undetermined3
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Equipment and vehicle use1
Recreation and ceremony1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
2 May 2018Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreWayne National ForestLAMPING FIRE
1 May 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreWayne National ForestTUESDAY FIRE
9 April 2013Debris and open burning2.5 acresOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
4 April 2013Debris and open burning3.0 acresOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
7 March 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWayne National ForestSYCAMORE
7 March 2001Arson/incendiarism55 acresWayne National ForestBELL
6 March 2018Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresWayne National ForestJACKSON RUN FIRE
6 March 2001Arson/incendiarismunder an acreWayne National ForestJACKSON RUN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Washington County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 167 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 167 specimens collected within 10 miles of Bloomfield between 1853 and 1975: 141 Animalia, 15 Fungi, 9 Plantae, 2 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by Adler, K. K., Wood & Tilley, S. G., Albert Hazen Wright, Archer, W. A. and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Taphrina sacchari JenkinsTaphrina sacchari Jenkins1922O.L. InmanAntioch College
Specimen of Tympanis confusa Nyl.Tympanis confusa Nyl.1962W.B. Cooke; V.G. CookeSchool Forest, Antioch, Glen Helen
A photograph of the species Anaxyrus americanus, not of this specimenAnaxyrus americanus (Holbrook, 1836)1853not recordedMarietta
A photograph of the species Anaxyrus fowleri, not of this specimenAnaxyrus fowleri (Hinckley, 1882)1853not recordedMarietta
A photograph of the species Diadophis punctatus, not of this specimenDiadophis punctatus (Linnaeus, 1766)1853not recordedMarietta
A photograph of the species Graptemys geographica, not of this specimenGraptemys geographica (Lesueur, 1817)1853not recordedMarietta
Liochlorophis vernalis (Harlan, 1827)1853not recordedMarietta
A photograph of the species Thamnophis Fitzinger, not of this specimenThamnophis Fitzinger, 18431853not recordedMarietta
A photograph of the species Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, not of this specimenCryptobranchus alleganiensis (Sonnini de Manoncourt & Latreille, 1801)1883Albert Hazen WrightMarietta
Alternaria solani Sorauer1905Post A. LeeLong Reach
Peronospora manshurica (Naumov) Syd.1928Archer, W. A.Greenbrier
A photograph of the species Cyprinella whipplei, not of this specimenCyprinella whipplei Girard, 18561929Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard) & Walker, W. H. (W. Harrington)Little Muskingum River, near Hune Covered Bridge, south of Wingett Run OH, NE Lawrence Township

All 167 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Storms near this place

36 since 2012

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bloomfield in 36 storm reports between 2012 and 2026: 36 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2015FloodBloomfield$100,000The larger streams and headwater rivers were above bank full, closing roads. This included the Little Muskingum River at Bloomfield. The river crested around 20.4 feet during the late afternoon on the 9th, with bank full around 16 feet. The stream gauge on Duck Creek at Whipple eventually crested on the 9th around 14.4 feet. The crest at Beverly on the Muskingum River was around 31.5 feet around 0000E on the 10th. Flood stage is 29 feet. This level was the highest level, since the gauge was installed back in 2012. ||The additional rain early on the 10th, prolonged the minor flooding. Rain of 1 to 1.25 inches was common along the front.
July 2013FloodBloomfield$10,000The Little Muskingum River crested on the 10th around 21.3 feet at the gauge near Bloomfield. Bankfull is around 16 feet.||Roads were blocked, including the intersection of Route 26 and 260.
January 2012FloodBloomfield$10,000no account filed
March 2021FloodBloomfield$5,000The Little Muskingum at Bloomfield rose above its 16 foot bankfull level just before noon on March 1st. The river crest at 16.57 feet later that day and returned to its banks in the evening. The intersection of Route 26 and Route 260 began to flood in low lying areas during this time as well as the fields located near the river gage.
January 2020FloodBloomfield$2,000The gage near Bloomfield on the Little Muskingum River showed the river rose above its 16 foot bankfull level early on the 25th. It crested near 18.5 feet just after sunrise, and returned to its banks early that afternoon. This flooded Route 26 near its intersection with Route 260.
March 2020FloodBloomfield$2,000Just after sunrise on the morning of the 19th, the Little Muskingum River at Bloomfield rose out of its 16 foot bankfull level. The river crested just below 20 feet that evening, then returned to its banks in the early morning hours on the 20th. Hay fields across from the gage and areas between the river and Route 26 were flooded during this time, as well as the intersection of Route 26 and Route 260.
May 2020FloodBloomfield$2,000Along the Little Muskingum River, the gage in Bloomfield showed the river rose out of its sixteen foot bankfull level during the early afternoon on the 22nd. By that evening, the river crested at 17.92 feet before returning into its banks just after midnight. While out of its banks, Route 26 near the intersection with Route 260 began to be inundated with high water.
February 2020FloodBloomfield$2,000On the morning of February 13th, the Little Muskingum River in Bloomfield rose out of its 16 foot bankfull level. Later on that evening, the river crested just above 20 feet, and then receded back down into its banks during the early morning hours on the 14th. While the river was above its bankfull level, the intersection of Route 26 and Route 260 began to flood.
April 2020FloodBloomfield$2,000Along the Little Muskingum River, the gage at Bloomfield showed the river rose above its sixteen foot bankfull stage on the afternoon of the 14th. The river rose to 17.34 feet before returning to its banks just before midnight. While above its bankfull stage, the river caused Route 26 near the intersection with Route 260 to be covered by water.
April 2018FloodBloomfield$2,000State Route 26 was flooded in several spots due to high water along the Little Muskingum River. ||At Bloomfield, the river rose above its 16 foot bankfull level late on the 24th. It crested one foot above bankfull during the predawn and returned to its banks around sunrise.
November 2018FloodBloomfield$2,000The Little Muskingum River near Bloomfield flooded, closing a section of Route 26 near its intersection with Route 260. The nearby river gage showed the river rose above its 16 foot bankfull level late on the 15th, and crested around 18 feet during the pre-dawn hours on the 16th. The river returned to its banks later that morning.
January 2023FloodBloomfield$1,500The Little Muskingum River at Bloomfield rose above its 16 foot bankfull level on the morning of January 3rd after a period of heavy rain. The river crested just before midnight that night at 26.2 feet and returned to its banks on the evening of January 4th. Several roads were flooded during the time the river remained out of its banks, including Route 26, Route 260, and Bloomfield Church Road.
February 2022FloodBloomfield$1,000The Little Muskingum River near Bloomfield rose out of its 16 foot bankfull level just before sunrise on the 18th. The river crested at 20.64 feet that afternoon before returning to its banks just after midnight. This resulted in minor flooding at the intersection of Route 26 and Route 260 along with minor flooding at the nearby hay field adjacent to the river.
March 2018FloodBloomfield$1,000State Route 26 was closed near the intersection with State Route 260 due to high water from the Little Muskingum River.||The gage at Bloomfield on the Little Muskingum rose above its bankfull level of 16 feet just after 2 AM on the 30th. The river crested around 18 feet at 2 PM and then returned to within its banks just after 8 PM that evening.
May 2018FloodBloomfield$1,000State Route 26 flooded near its intersection with Route 260 as the Little Muskingum River overflowed its banks. ||The gage on the Little Muskingum near Bloomfield showed the river rose above its 16 foot bankfull level very early on the 23rd. It crested at just over 20 feet around noon, and returned to its banks by early evening.
June 2018FloodBloomfield$1,000The Little Muskingum River near Bloomfield flooded, causing high water along Route 26. The river gage showed the river rose above its bankfull level of 16 feet during the predawn hours on the 22nd. It crested half a foot above bankfull around sunrise before returning to its banks by mid morning.
June 2018FloodBloomfield$1,000As additional thunderstorms moved through, the Little Muskingum River near Bloomfield flooded again late on the 22nd, again causing high water along Route 26. The river gage showed the river rose above its bankfull level of 16 feet late on the 22nd, cresting near 19 feet around sunrise on the 23rd. The river receded back into its banks by noon on the 23rd.
March 2024FloodBloomfield$500The Little Muskingum River at Bloomfield exceeded a bankfull level of 16 feet mid morning on the 15th of March. The river crested around 17 feet and then lowered below bankfull that afternoon. While the river was out of its banks, portions of Route 26 near the intersection with Route 260 began to observe high water. A local hay field across from the gauge flooded during this time period.
February 2022FloodBloomfield$500In Bloomfield, the Little Muskingum River rose out of its 16 foot bankfull level on the afternoon of February 25th. The river crested at 18.84 feet that evening then returned to its banks very early on the 26th. While out of its banks, the river spilled onto State Route 260 where it intersects with Route 26.
February 2022FloodBloomfield$500On the evening of February 3rd, the Little Muskingum River near Bloomfield rose above its 16 foot bankfull level. The river crested at 23.53 feet on the afternoon of the 4th and then receded back its its banks just after midnight early on the 5th. While out of its banks, Bloomfield Church Lane near the bridge flooded.
May 2022FloodBloomfield$500The Little Muskingum River near Bloomfield rose above its 16 foot bankfull level on the morning of May 7th, crested at 19.89 feet later that evening, and then returned to its banks just after midnight. While out of its banks, the river resulted in flooding on Route 26 near the intersection of Route 260 as well as flooding of nearby hay fields.
June 2022FloodBloomfield$500The Little Muskingum River in Bloomfield rose above its 16 foot bankfull level just after midnight on June 17th in response to rainfall from the previous day. The river crested at 18.38 feet later that morning and returned to its banks a few hours later. This resulted in minor flooding at the intersection of Route 26 and Route 260 near Bloomfield, as well as low lying hay fields adjacent to the river.
June 2019FloodBloomfield$500The river gage along the Little Muskingum River near Bloomfield rose above its bankfull level of 16 feet during the early morning hours on the 20th. The gage showed the river crested near 21 feet late in the morning then returning to its banks by that evening. This flooded the intersection of Route 26 and Route 260 near the gage.
September 2018FloodBloomfield$500The Little Muskingum River flooded, closing Route 26 near its intersection with Route 260. The stream gage near Bloomfield showed the river rose above its 16 foot flood stage on the evening of the 25th. It crested in minor flood, around 18.5 feet after midnight and returned to its banks shortly after sunrise on the 26th.
September 2018FloodBloomfield$500The Little Muskingum River at Bloomfield rose above its 16 foot flood stage early on the 10th. It crested at 18.5 feet, or minor flooding, that evening and returned to its banks by midnight. This flooded Route 26 near its intersection with Route 260.
March 2024FloodBloomfield$200State Route 26 was closed due to flooding between State Route 260 and Griffin Hill Road.
November 2022FloodBloomfield$200The Little Muskingum River near Bloomfield rose above its 16 foot bankfull level just after midnight on November 12th. The river crested at 18.37 near sunrise and then returned to its banks in the early afternoon. While the river was out of its banks, water spilled onto portions of Routes 26 and 260 that reside near the gage.
March 2026FloodBloomfield-The Little Muskingum at Bloomfield rose above a bankfull level of 16 feet shortly near mid day on March 27th, then continued to rise to a crest around 18.5 feet late that afternoon. The river then receded back below bankfull level that night. Portions of State Route 26 between Hills Bridge Road and Griffin Hill Road were closed due to flooding as a result.
February 2025FloodBloomfield-The Little Muskingum at Bloomfield exceeded a bankfull level of 16 feet on the morning of February 16th. After cresting around 21.4 feet during the evening, the river returned to its banks the next morning. Before doing so, however, flooding was observed at Route 26 near the intersection with Route 260 and in fields near the gage.
May 2025FloodBloomfield-The Little Muskingum River at Bloomfield rose above a bankfull level of 16 feet on the night of May 30th. After rising to a crest of around 18 feet, the river slowly receded and returned to its banks the next morning. Route 26 near the intersection with Route 260 flooded along with adjacent fields while the river was out of its banks.
January 2024FloodBloomfield-The Little Muskingum River gage at Bloomfield exceeded its bankfull level of 16 feet in the early afternoon of January 28th. The river crested just over 20 feet overnight, then fell back below bankfull the following morning. Flooding occurred along Route 26 near the intersection with Route 260.
January 2024FloodBloomfield-The Bloomfield gage on the Little Muskingum River exceeded a bankfull level of 16 feet on the afternoon of January 9th, then continued to rise to a crest of around 22 feet before sunrise on the 10th. The river then lowered back down through the day, eventually returning to its banks on the afternoon of the 10th. The intersection of Route 26 and Route 260 observed minor flooding while the river was out of its banks.
January 2024FloodBloomfield-The Little Muskingum River gage at Bloomfield exceeded its bankfull level of 16 feet during the early morning hours of January 25th. The river crested just under 20 feet during the afternoon, then fell back below bankfull that night. While out of its banks, minor flooding along parts of Route 26 and Route 260 occurred, primarily in poor drainage areas adjacent to the creek.
April 2024FloodBloomfield-The Little Muskingum River at Bloomfield exceeded its bankfull level on the evening of April 11th. The river continued to rise to a crest of around 21.5 feet the next morning and then returned to its banks once again on the evening of the 12th. Portions of Route 26 near the intersection of Route 260 observed high water issues while the river was out of its banks.
April 2024FloodBloomfield-The Bloomfield gauge on the Little Muskingum River rose above bankfull level on the night of April 2nd. The river crested around 24 feet the following afternoon, and then returned to its banks during the early morning hours of April 4th. In addition to high water issues that arose along Route 26 and Route 260, Bloomfield Church Road near the Little Muskingum River bridge flooded.
December 2016FloodBloomfield-The river gauge on the Little Muskingum at Bloomfield crested just above 21 feet the evening of the 18th. Bankfull is 16 feet. Minor flooding occurred near the intersection of Route 26 and Route 260.

Every storm recorded in Washington County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Muskingum (historical)1.1 miles16
Hohman2.0 miles16
Carter (historical)2.0 miles16
Wingett Run2.7 miles16
Shay3.6 miles16
Glass4.1 miles16
Ward (historical)5.1 miles16
Heslop5.3 miles15

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on BloomfieldAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q22133339The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1075412. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.