BLOOMINGTON

 

            The following is based on Marion Felder's article, Grant County Wisconsin 1776-1976 Centennial - Bloomington History, with additional information from Bob Patterson.

 

            In 1727 Captain Morand established a trading post at what is now Bloomington.  The town was first named West Point.  Later, D. W. Taft, one of the first settlers, named it Tafton, but it was never incorporated.  The first dwelling was built in 1845.  The village was included in Patch Grove Township as was much of the surrounding area.  When Bloomington Township was first formed, it was called Larder.  Many of the early inhabitants of the area were of Scotch and English descent, and migrated to the area from the lead and zinc mining areas of Beetown and Potosi.

 

            Bloomington sprang up around the site of an important water powered grist mill established in 1852 by D. W. Taft.  The town later was named for him.  A mill dam was built North East of the village near what is now the Farmers' Implement Business.  The stream was backed up for some distance to the north making a pond large enough for small boats in the summer.  In 1854 it was considered to be one of the best custom mills in the west.  As a result, the mill became an important part of the growth of the village, making a ready market for the large amount of grain produced

in the area.  The mill fell on hard times in the 1860's.  Heavy rains would wash out the dam and it became too expensive to keep up.  Taft met financial reverses, and the mill went into the hands of the mortgage holder Cyrus Sargent.  He then transferred the property over

to Woodhouse (probably a brother of Peter) and Thomas.

 

Bloomington Mill - 1991

 

            In 1880, Cyrus Sargent was the wealthiest man in this part of the country.  He came to the county in 1842 and taught school in Beetown before becoming a money lender.  He remained unmarried, frugal and economical.  He owned several farms and mills through foreclosure.  He was killed when he fell from a load of straw and broke his neck.

 

            The people of the village of Tafton, for unknown reasons, developed ill feelings toward Mr. Tafton, and renamed the town "Bloomington" because it was a blooming town.  The members of the Delos W. Taft family were all buried in unmarked graves at the cemetery.  In 1970 through the efforts of Robert Patterson the Village of Bloomington put up a memorial stone on their lot in honor of the Taft family.

 

            Many businesses sprang up in this rapidly growing town in spite of the lack of railroad or water transportation.  Supplies had to be hauled in by horses from railroad stations and river docks in Bridgeport, Cassville, Glen Haven and Bagley.  One of the first businesses in town was a blacksmith shop operated by a man named Taner who built plows.  Other businesses included a grocery and hardware store owned by Woodhouse and Morse, a bank was operated by Humphrey and Clark in 1871 (twelve years later it was sold to Peter Woodhouse and P. Bartley), Mark Hadley started the Bloomington Hotel, a nursery was opened by Elton and Ballentine, a post office was established in 1855, a local paper "The Bloomington Record" was started in 1880, and a creamery was started in 1883.

 

            The Taft Collegiate Seminary was started in 1856 by M. F. Allen.  Students came from all over the state.  At one time it had an attendance of over 200.  When the Civil War broke out, attendance dropped sharply and the school was closed in 1868.  The Rock School was built later in 1870 and is still standing in good condition.

 

CHURCHES

 

            Some of the first church services in the area were held in the Red School from 1845 to 1857 by the Baptists.  This denomination predominated in the area and the church was moved to Bloomington in 1857.  The Methodist Church building was completed in 1871. 

 

The Catholic Church was moved to Bloomington from its location near the Catholic Cemetery in Patch Grove.  The Congregational Church, very prominent in the area, took over the Tafton Collegiate Seminary after it closed.  They had their first church services in the area in 1849 in "Pop" Blunt's barn located near the Fred Zenz Farm.

 

BLOOMINGTON FIRE

 

            One of the major setbacks for the growing village of Bloomington, was a huge fire on March 23, 1897.  It destroyed most of the buildings on the south side of Main Street and cracked most of the windows on the north side.  In all, sixteen houses and two valuable barns were destroyed.  Only one-half of the loss was covered by insurance.  The fire was discovered shortly after midnight over a saloon owned by Mr. Gabriel in the center part of Main Street.  The fire spread both ways and since there was no fire protection what-so-ever, all they could do was to watch it burn.

 

FARMING

 

            Bloomington's growth and prosperity can be attributed to the fertile land that surrounds it.  The area first produced large quantities of wheat, much of it brought to the Tafton Mills to be made into flour.  When the mining area of Beetown became mined out, people migrated to the Bloomington area to make a living from farming and agriculture related industries.  In 1841 Enos Finn settled in the west part of the village and raised 4 or 5 acres of Indian Corn with good results.  Much of the early seed corn was produced in the southern states and the varieties were too late in their maturity for the upper midwest.  To promote agriculture in the area, the Blake's Prairie Fair Assn. was organized in 1868.  It was first held south of the village, but was later moved to the north where the fair still remains.  This has always been one of the main events of the year.

 

            Farming continues to be important to the area.   The growth of the trucking industry has solved the transportation problem that long prevented its more rapid development.  Many changes have taken place over the years, particularly in the type of farming practiced here.  With the development of hybrid corn and maturities more adapted to the area, corn has become an important crop.  Strip cropping is very much in evidence and the gently rolling land is being conserved for future generations.  Bloomington is now one of the major dairy and hog producing areas in the state.

 

 

Sources:  Robert Patterson, Bloomington, Wis., Grant County Wisconsin 1776-1976 Centennial - Bloomington History written by Marion Felder