Editing Bloomfield, Kentucky

{{for|the place in Bath County formerly known as Bloomfield|Sharpsburg, Kentucky}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = City of Bloomfield
|settlement_type          = [[list of cities in Kentucky|City]]
|named_for                = the family of a [[John Bemiss|local landowner]]<ref name=ren/>
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Bloomfield-KY48-ky.jpg
|imagesize                = 250px
|image_caption            = [[Kentucky Route 48|KY 48]] in Bloomfield
|image_flag               = Flag of Bloomfield, Kentucky.png
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = File:Nelson County Kentucky Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Bloomfield Highlighted 2107516.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Bloomfield in Nelson County, Kentucky.
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             =

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Kentucky]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Kentucky|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Nelson County, Kentucky|Nelson]]
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
|established_title        = Incorporated
|established_date         = 1819<ref name=sos>Commonwealth of Kentucky. Office of the Secretary of State. Land Office. "[http://apps.sos.ky.gov/land/cities/citydetail.asp?id=33 Bloomfield, Kentucky] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610213332/http://apps.sos.ky.gov/land/cities/citydetail.asp?id=33 |date=June 10, 2015 }}". Accessed 15 July 2013.</ref>

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref  = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_21.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=March 18, 2022}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 3.79
<!--3408172 m2-->
|area_land_km2            = 3.73
<!--3353060 m2-->
|area_water_km2           = 0.06
<!--55112 m2-->
|area_total_sq_mi         = 1.46
<!--1.315903 mi2-->
|area_land_sq_mi          = 1.44
<!--1.294624 mi2-->
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.02
<!--0.0212788 mi2-->

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 961
|population_density_km2   = 257.45
|population_density_sq_mi = 666.90
|timezone                 = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_ft             = 673
|coordinates              = {{coord|37|54|44|N|85|18|50|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 40008
|area_code                = [[Area code 502|502]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 21-07516
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 2403879<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2403879}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|www.bloomfieldky.com}}
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
}}
'''Bloomfield''' is a [[List of cities in Kentucky|home rule–class city]] in [[Nelson County, Kentucky|Nelson County]], [[Kentucky]], in the United States. The population was 838 during the [[2010 U.S. census]]. Former names of the city included '''Middlesburg''' and '''Gandertown'''.

==History==
The community on the east fork of Simpson Creek originally grew up on sites purchased from Leven Powell's {{convert|2000|acre|sp=us|adj=on}} land grant, which he received from the state of [[Virginia]] in 1779 and surveyed in 1781.<ref name=bloohi>City of Bloomfield. "[http://www.bloomfieldky.com/history.shtml History of the City of Bloomfield, Kentucky]". 
2013. Accessed 8 October 2013.</ref> The community on the east bank of the creek was known as ''Middlesburg'' when its first post office opened in 1803;<ref name=ren/> the west bank was known as ''Gandertown'' from its sport of "[[ganderpulling]]". Dr. John Bemiss of [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]], [[New York (state)|New York]], had settled in the area in 1799;<ref name=bloohi/> in 1817, he laid out the town and renamed it ''Bloomfield'', supposedly after his wife's maiden name (Bloomer) and his daughter's married name (Merrifield). The post office adopted this name the next year,<ref name=ren>Rennick, Robert. ''Kentucky Place Names'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=3Lac2FUSj_oC&pg=PA23 p. 23]. University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1987. Accessed 8 October 2013.</ref> but, according to the state's Land Office, the town was still formally incorporated under the name Middlesburg in 1819.<ref name=sos/>

Bloomfield's economy has always been agriculturally based, but there was a flour mill and a tobacco auction house in the 19th century. The [[Newell B. McClaskey House]] and [[plantation]] was built in 1835, and is now listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nrhpdoc">{{cite web|date=March 24, 2000|others=Kentucky Heritage Council|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Newell B. McClaskey House|url={{NRHP url|id=00000269}}|access-date=June 22, 2021|publisher=[[National Park Service]], [[U.S. Department of the Interior]]}} (with {{NRHP url|id=00000269|photos=y|title=accompanying photos}})</ref> The McClaskey family had owned over 700 acres of land in the area at one time.<ref name="nrhpdoc" />

The public library was established in 1916 by the local Woman's Club.<ref name="bloohi" />

==Geography==
Bloomfield is located on the East Fork of Simpson Creek (part of the [[Salt River (Kentucky)|Salt River]] watershed). It is concentrated around the intersection of [[U.S. Route 62|US 62]], [[Kentucky Route 55|KY 55]] and [[Kentucky Route 48|KY 48]], {{convert|9|mi|sp=us}} northeast of [[Bardstown, Kentucky|Bardstown]], and about {{convert|20|mi|sp=us}} southeast of [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]]. According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|1.3|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|1.3|sqmi|km2}} is land and 0.78% is water.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1810= 68
|1830= 301
|1870= 435
|1900= 385
|1910= 352
|1920= 471
|1930= 455
|1940= 535
|1950= 666
|1960= 916
|1970= 1072
|1980= 954
|1990= 845
|2000= 855
|2010= 838
|2020= 961
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 18, 2024}}</ref>
}}
As of the [[2020 United States census|census of 2020]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=2024-06-18 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> there were 961 people, 460 households, and 272 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|755|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 384 housing units at an average density of {{convert|291.8|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 89.3% [[White American|White]] (88.1% [[Non-Hispanic Whites|non-Hispanic]]), 8.6% [[African American]], 0.48% [[Asian American|Asian]], 0.72% from [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census#Race|other races]], and 0.95% from [[Multiracial American|two or more races]]. [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanics or Latinos]] of any race were 2.0% of the population. No one in the city identified exclusively as a [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Pacific Islander American|Pacific Islander]].

There were 334 households, out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.1% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.04.

The age distribution was 27.2% under 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 or older. The median age was 38.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $50,938, and the median income for a family was $51,528. Full-time male workers had a median income of $46,944 versus $26,510 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $20,279. About 18.1% of families and 18.9% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 34.7% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.

==Education==
There are two public schools, Bloomfield Elementary School and Bloomfield Middle School; there are two schools now closed: the former Bloomfield High School and Eli H Brown Elementary school, both now privately owned. Eli Brown was a black-only school during segregation.

Bloomfield has a [[public library|lending library]], a branch of the Nelson County Public Library.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://kdla.ky.gov/librarians/pages/librarydirectory.aspx | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111202017/https://kdla.ky.gov/librarians/pages/librarydirectory.aspx | url-status=dead | archive-date=11 January 2019 | title=Kentucky Public Library Directory | publisher=Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives | accessdate=7 June 2019}}</ref>

The Library features several public computers, a kids program with multiple activities for teens and children, and lots of decor, furniture, and books. There are computers for teens and adults as well as computers for toddlers with games, and tablets with games.

==Notable residents==
{{See also|List of people from the Louisville metropolitan area}}

*[[Jereboam Beauchamp]] criminal who inspired ''[[Politian (play)|Politian]]'' by [[Edgar Allan Poe]].
* [[Jerry Bruckheimer]] and [[Linda Bruckheimer]]; film and television producer who own several historic buildings downtown.
*[[James Guthrie (Kentucky politician)|James Guthrie]], [[Kentucky House of Representatives|state representative]], [[list of U.S. secretaries of the Treasury|Secretary of the Treasury]], [[list of U.S. senators from Kentucky|senator]], & president of the [[Louisville & Nashville Railroad|L&N Railroad]]
* [[Stith Thompson]], American folklore scholar

== See also ==

* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Nelson County, Kentucky]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Bloomfield, Kentucky}}
*{{official website|www.bloomfieldky.org}}
*[https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/a336e0d5-a93e-4484-b9a8-6da264aa1f9d/ Bloomfield Historic District] - National Register of Historic Places inventory form

{{Nelson County, Kentucky}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Kentucky]]
[[Category:Cities in Nelson County, Kentucky]]
[[Category:Louisville metropolitan area]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1819]]
[[Category:1819 establishments in Kentucky]]