Welcome to Bloomington ...

Bloomington is located in Osborne County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Bloomington, you might consider that their post office opened in 1874.

When the people of Bloomington refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Bloomingtonian<2>

Bloomington is 1,590 feet [485 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Bloomington lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Bloomington: 785

Communities Also Named Bloomington ...

While we believe that this Bloomington is located in Osborne County, we know of another 4 Kansas communities named Bloomington. Those communities are located in the following counties: Atchison, Butler, Coffey and Riley County.

Beyond Kansas, there are 33 communities that are also named Bloomington - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky (2), Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario (2), Pennsylvania (2), South Dakota, Tennessee (2), Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bloomington.

Communities near Bloomington ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Bloomington.

Osborne
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborne
- Osborne is located in Osborne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,280 people
- Osborne has also been known as:
- Peru
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osborne <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Osborne
- From Bloomington to Osborne
Downs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downs
- Downs is located in Osborne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 818 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Downs <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Downs
- From Bloomington to Downs
Cawker City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cawker City have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cawker City
- Cawker City is located in Mitchell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 426 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cawker City <4>
Tipton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Tipton is located in Mitchell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tipton <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Tipton
- From Bloomington to Tipton
Woodston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodston
- Woodston is located in Rooks County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
- Woodston has also been known as:
- Woodston Saw
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodston <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Woodston
- From Bloomington to Woodston
Gaylord
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaylord
- Gaylord is located in Smith County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gaylord <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Gaylord
- From Bloomington to Gaylord
Portis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portis
- Portis is located in Osborne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Portis
- From Bloomington to Portis
Alton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Alton is located in Osborne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Alton
- From Bloomington to Alton
Cedar
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
- Cedar is located in Smith County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13 people
Harlan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan
- Harlan is located in Smith County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Harlan
- From Bloomington to Harlan

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Bloomington. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Bloomington.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Bloomington. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bloomington.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Bloomington. See our Newspapers Page for Bloomington.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Bloomington ...

Looking for more information about Bloomington? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Bloomington, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Bloomington.

Adding Bloomington to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Bloomington in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Bloomington was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Bloomington post office opened in 1874.

We also found Bloomington in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Bloomington.

Footnotes ...

<1>	If you're interested in how the shape of Kansas' counties, including Osborne, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>	A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Bloomington refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Bloomington may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<3>	The elevation is an estimate for the area around Bloomington - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>	While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>	The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<6>	A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/