Editing Bloomfield, Indiana (section)

== History ==
The area where Bloomfield is located has been inhabited by Native Americans since prehistory.  Tribes that have lived in the area include the [[Miami tribe]], [[Kickapoo people|Kickapoo]], [[Piankeshaw]] and [[Wea]]. A settlement of [[Woodland period]] people has been excavated by Indiana and Ball State Universities research teams near the confluence of Richland Creek and the [[White River (Indiana)|White River]] south of Bloomfield.<ref>{{cite web
  |url = http://www.gbl.indiana.edu/abstracts/IHS/bib.html
  |title = Introduction to the Prehistory of Indiana
  |publisher = Kellar, James H.
  |access-date = January 23, 2013
  |url-status = dead
  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120909034214/http://www.gbl.indiana.edu/abstracts/IHS/bib.html
  |archive-date = September 9, 2012
  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
  |url = http://www.gbl.indiana.edu/abstracts/87/tankersley_87.html
  |title = Patterns in lithic resource procurement and exploitation among early paleo-Indians of the midwestern United States
  |publisher = Tankersley, Kenneth B.
  |access-date = January 23, 2013
  |url-status = dead
  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120207175258/http://www.gbl.indiana.edu/abstracts/87/tankersley_87.html
  |archive-date = February 7, 2012
  }}</ref>

The town of Bloomfield was laid out in 1824 when Greene County needed a new county seat due to the lack of a reliable water source for the town of Burlington.  Burlington was located west of Bloomfield near the [[White River (Indiana)|west fork of the White River]].

The Greene County Courthouse, a log building in the town's center, was the town's first building. The current [[Greene County Courthouse (Indiana)|Greene County Courthouse]], a brick structure built in the late 19th century, stands at the same location.  An expansion and renovation project was completed in 2008.  It was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2008.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

In 1824, [[Peter Cornelius Van Slyke]] donated land to Greene County for the purpose of establishing a new county seat.
<ref>{{cite web
  |url = http://www.countyhistory.com/greene/more.htm
  |title = Greene County Indiana History and Genealogy
  |publisher = County History Preservation Society
  |access-date = January 23, 2013
  |url-status = dead
  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120205031844/http://www.countyhistory.com/greene/more.htm
  |archive-date = February 5, 2012
  }}</ref>  
Van Slyke was born on the [[Mohawk River]] in [[Schenectady County, New York]], on April 5, 1766.   He migrated to southern Indiana in 1816.   Van Slyke was a veteran of the [[War of 1812]] and died on September 25, 1834.

The well-known Rousseau brothers, [[Lovell Rousseau|Lovell H. Rousseau]] and [[Richard H. Rousseau]], both located in Bloomfield in 1841 to practice law. They served as Greene County State Representatives and Lovell as State Senator until returning to Kentucky in 1849. During that period, Lovell raised a company of Greene County men (Co. E, 2nd Indiana Infantry) to fight in the [[Mexican–American War|Mexican War]], who were conspicuous at the [[Battle of Buena Vista]] (1847).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Dan |title=Kentuckian in Blue: A Biography of Major General Lovell Harrison Rousseau |publisher=McFarland |year=2010}}</ref> Following their return to Kentucky, Lovell became nationally famous/distinguished, and the local Bloomfield Chapter of the [[Grand Army of the Republic]] was named for him (Post #326).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indiana GAR Posts 300 thru 399 – Department of Indiana |url=https://suvcwin.org/?page_id=252 |access-date=February 25, 2024 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Bloomfield was incorporated as a town in 1850.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hellmann |first=Paul T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=REtEXQNWq6MC&pg=PA310 |title=Historical Gazetteer of the United States |date=2006-02-14 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-94859-7 |page=310 |language=en}}</ref>

Bloomfield Jr./Sr. High School has also been home to Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame coaches Guy Glover (1954-1977) and Steve Brett (1978-1993).