History

History of the Village of Bloomfield

The Town of East Bloomfield was formed in 1789 as part of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. The Village of East Bloomfield started out as one village stretching about a mile in length reaching from the western Main Street boundary eastward to just past the junction of Main and Route 444.  Businesses sprang up at both ends of the Main Street, with the eastern area becoming known as East Bloomfield Station because the railroad, built in 1854, which ran through the business district.

North side of Main Street in the Village of East Bloomfield
 

South Side of Main Street in the Village of East Bloomfield

East Bloomfield Station became the heart of the Town’s business community, thriving with manufacturing companies, mills, retail businesses, hotels, doctor and dentist offices and a bank. Adding to that activity was the railroad which brought passengers and goods and provided for the outward shipment of manufactured and agricultural items. In 1916 after a difficult struggle, the local population was successful in carving out a new village and the Village of Holcomb was incorporated with an elected government of its own.

The Mallory Hotel in Holcomb with the railroad tracks running along the right side of the building.
 

In 1932 disaster struck the Village of Holcomb.  A fire that started in the early morning of December 15th, burnt the entire north side of the Main Street business district.  After six hours, with the help of the additional fire departments, the flames were brought under control, though for a considerable time all buildings in the vicinity were threatened with destruction because of the intense heat and showers of embers carried to the north and east by the raging winds.  It was agreed by many that the rest of the village was saved by the water system the village had installed the previous summer.

On June 1, 1990, the villages were reunited and consolidated into a single Village of Bloomfield.