Bloomfield History: Township Story and Archives

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The northernmost portion of this early map shows the earliest English establishments in what would later become Bloomfield, including those of the Crane, Dodd, and Williams families. The roads that would become Washington and Franklin Streets are called "Nishuyne Ferry Road" (aka Nishayne, which may have been the name of an Indian tribe), suggesting that natives may have operated one or more ferries across Second River and/or its tributaries. The predecessor of Bloomfield Avenue is called "Road to Cranetown"; Cranetown is now Montclair. This map shows the property of Anthony Olef/Olive, the likely namesake of Toney's Brook. Note that other homesteads in what would become Bloomfield existed at the time, but were not included in this map, presumably because they were in Dutch neighborhoods. 
 
18th Century Survey of Bloomfield. Source: Historical Society of Bloomfield.
This is the earliest known survey of the English neighborhood that would later become Bloomfield. The date of this map is unknown, but it pre-dates the Church on the Green (started 1794). A careful study of the property owners may someday more precisely indicate its production date; if you can help determine the date of this rare document, please contact us. Note that with the exception of a Jeralemon household and the labeling the road to Second River (now Belleville), this map ignores the Dutch settlers in the area, including those in Stone House Plains (now Brookdale), and indication of the separation between the two ethnic communities. Source: Historical Society of Bloomfield.
 
1830 Map Reproduction of Bloomfield Town. Source: Historical Society of Bloomfield.
This map of Bloomfield Town, which essentially encompasses present-day Bloomfield from Bay Avenue south, was drawn by John F. Capen in 1912 based on notes made in 1910 by John Oakes. Source: Historical Society of Bloomfield.
Note: This map includes at least one known error: Item #21 is Oakes' Mill (Davey's). Davey's Mill was on the north side of the mill pond to the immediate northwest of Oake's Mill and Pond. [Did Davey's Mill exist in 1830?]
 
1856 Map of Bloomfield Town. Source: Historical Society of Bloomfield.
 
This map includes a comprehensive view of Bloomfield town, which essentially means modern Bloomfield and Glen Ridge, excluding areas north of Bay Avenue. The primary sponsor was L. S. Haskell, developer of Llewellyn Park; this map inlcudes the earliest known map of that development. Pictures shown around periphery have been incorporated into Residences and Businesses. Source: Bloomfield Public Library.
 
1859 Map of Essex County (tbp) Source: Bloomfield Public Library.
 
1865 Map of Bloomfield and Belleville (large file) Source: Bloomfield Public Library
This map is the first known comprehensive image of individual properties in the ethnic Dutch communities of Speertown (Upper Montclair), Stone House Plains (Brookdale), and the northern part of Belleville (later Franklin, now Nutley).
 
1867 Map Reproduction of Bloomfield and Belleville (large file) Source: Mayor's office, Bloomfield
This map was traced from an original map on cloth by ________ in ____. Similar to the 1865 map above, it is useful for identifying property changes between previous and subsequent maps. As it is the last comprehensive map prior to the separation of Montclair, it can be useful for studying changes related to that action.
 
1871 Map of Bloomfield (tbp) Source: Bloomfield Public Library.
 
Circa 1888 Bloomfield Map Set. Source Historical Society of Bloomfield.
This large set (17 individual maps, each approximately 36" x 48") is thought to be the graphic used to assign and explain the US Postal Service's street numbering system when it was implementd. The index map roughly shows the layout of the individual maps. The set does not include areas north of Bay Avenue.  Source: Historical Society of Bloomfield.
 
Note: This set is formatted to be best viewed using Adobe Acrobat viewer, set to two-page, side-by-side viewing. There are known errors in this set: ___________, ____________.
Index      Map 1      Map 2      Map 3      Map 4      Map 5      Map 6      Map 7      Map 8
 
Map 9    Map 10    Map 11     Map 12    Map 13    Map 14    Map 15    Map 16     Map 17
Commercial map that shows streets, railroads, and waterways, including the Morris Canal.
 
1890 Bloomfield Map Set
This set was commissioned by the Library of Congress as part of a larger mapping project. Each "plate" is a large file (approximately 5 megabytes). Source: Historical Society of Bloomfield.
1906 Bloomfield Map Set
This set, very similar to the 1890 set above, covers all of Bloomfield in five "plates". Source: Historical Society of Bloomfield.
1916 Map of Bloomfield, Montclair, and Glen Ridge Source: Historical Society of Bloomfield.
 
1932 Bloomfield Map (tbp). Source: Historical Society of Bloomfield.