The location of Bloomington
Our Genealogy Helper for Bloomington ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool that can help us with planning our trips.
- That it also helps us to understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
By learning about Bloomington (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this, our Genealogical Helper for Bloomington. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
It's still very early in our research, but as we gather more information it will be added to this page.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Bloomington is located in Garrett County.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Garrett County: Allegany, Fayette (PA), Somerset (PA), Grant (WV), Mineral (WV) & Preston (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Bloomington. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bloomington:
| Dir | Distance | ||
| Garrett (The home county for Bloomington) | |||
| Kitzmiller [Map] | SW | 8 miles [12.9 km]<1> | |
| Swanton [Map] | W | 8 miles [12.9 km] | |
| Bittinger [Map] | NW | 11 miles [17.7 km] | |
| Deer Park [Map] | W | 14 miles [22.5 km] | |
| Grantsville [Map] | N | 15 miles [24.1 km] | |
| McHenry [Map] | W | 15 miles [24.1 km] | |
| Accident [Map] | NW | 16 miles [25.7 km] | |
| Loch Lynn Heights [Map] | W | 17 miles [27.4 km] | |
| Mountain Lake Park [Map] | W | 17 miles [27.4 km] | |
| Oakland [Map] | W | 18 miles [29 km] | |
| Friendsville [Map] | NW | 21 miles [33.8 km] | |
| Red House [Map] | SW | 23 miles [37 km] | |
| Allegany | |||
| Luke [Map] | E | Less than 2 miles | |
| Westernport [Map] | E | Less than 2 miles | |
| Barton [Map] | NE | 4 miles [6.4 km] | |
| Nikep [Map] | NE | 6 miles [9.7 km] | |
| Lonaconing [Map] | NE | 7 miles [11.3 km] | |
| Midland [Map] | NE | 9 miles [14.5 km] | |
| Rawlings [Map] | E | 10 miles [16.1 km] | |
| Klondike [Map] | NE | 10 miles [16.1 km] | |
| Woodland [Map] | NE | 10 miles [16.1 km] | |
| Midlothian [Map] | NE | 12 miles [19.3 km] | |
| Loarville [Map] | NE | 13 miles [20.9 km] | |
| Pinto [Map] | NE | 13 miles [20.9 km] | |
| Frostburg [Map] | NE | 14 miles [22.5 km] | |
| Bedford (PA) | |||
| Stringtown (PA) [Map] | NE | 25 miles [40.2 km] | |
| Hyndman (PA) [Map] | NE | 30 miles [48.3 km] | |
| Rainsburg (PA) [Map] | NE | 40 miles [64.4 km] | |
| Fayette (PA) | |||
| Markleysburg (PA) [Map] | NW | 26 miles [41.8 km] | |
| Ohiopyle (PA) [Map] | NW | 34 miles [54.7 km] | |
| Mount Washington (PA) [Map] | NW | 35 miles [56.3 km] | |
| Somerset (PA) | |||
| Salisbury (PA) [Map] | N | 18 miles [29 km] | |
| Wellersburg (PA) [Map] | NE | 21 miles [33.8 km] | |
| Callimont (PA) [Map] | N | 23 miles [37 km] | |
| Glade City (PA) [Map] | N | 23 miles [37 km] | |
| Meyersdale (PA) [Map] | N | 23 miles [37 km] | |
| Addison (PA) [Map] | NW | 23 miles [37 km] | |
| Ursina (PA) [Map] | NW | 23 miles [37 km] | |
| Garrett (PA) [Map] | N | 26 miles [41.8 km] | |
| Hays Mill (PA) [Map] | N | 26 miles [41.8 km] | |
| Confluence (PA) [Map] | NW | 27 miles [43.5 km] | |
| Casselman (PA) [Map] | N | 28 miles [45.1 km] | |
| Fairhope (PA) [Map] | NE | 28 miles [45.1 km] | |
| Johnsburg (PA) [Map] | NE | 29 miles [46.7 km] | |
| Grant (WV) | |||
| Bayard (WV) [Map] | SW | 21 miles [33.8 km] | |
| Arthur (WV) [Map] | S | 28 miles [45.1 km] | |
| Petersburg (WV) [Map] | S | 33 miles [53.1 km] | |
| Hampshire (WV) | |||
| Ritters (WV) [Map] | E | 18 miles [29 km] | |
| Romney (WV) [Map] | SE | 19 miles [30.6 km] | |
| Three Churches (WV) [Map] | E | 22 miles [35.4 km] | |
| Augusta (WV) [Map] | SE | 26 miles [41.8 km] | |
| Slanesville (WV) [Map] | E | 30 miles [48.3 km] | |
| Capon Bridge (WV) [Map] | E | 36 miles [57.9 km] | |
| Hardy (WV) | |||
| Moorefield (WV) [Map] | S | 29 miles [46.7 km] | |
| Baker (WV) [Map] | SE | 34 miles [54.7 km] | |
| Wardensville (WV) [Map] | SE | 37 miles [59.5 km] | |
| Lost City (WV) [Map] | S | 40 miles [64.4 km] | |
| Mineral (WV) | |||
| Piedmont (WV) [Map] | E | Less than 2 miles | |
| Keyser (WV) [Map] | SE | 5 miles [8 km] | |
| New Creek (WV) [Map] | S | 7 miles [11.3 km] | |
| Elk Garden (WV) [Map] | SW | 7 miles [11.3 km] | |
| Sulphur City (WV) [Map] | S | 9 miles [14.5 km] | |
| Hartmansville (WV) [Map] | S | 11 miles [17.7 km] | |
| Burlington (WV) [Map] | SE | 12 miles [19.3 km] | |
| Fort Ashby (WV) [Map] | E | 16 miles [25.7 km] | |
| Carpendale (WV) [Map] | NE | 18 miles [29 km] | |
| Wiley Ford (WV) [Map] | NE | 18 miles [29 km] | |
| Ridgeley (WV) [Map] | NE | 19 miles [30.6 km] | |
| Morgan (WV) | |||
| Paw Paw (WV) [Map] | E | 33 miles [53.1 km] | |
| Magnolia (WV) [Map] | E | 34 miles [54.7 km] | |
| Preston (WV) | |||
| Terra Alta (WV) [Map] | W | 25 miles [40.2 km] | |
| Aurora (WV) [Map] | SW | 27 miles [43.5 km] | |
| Albright (WV) [Map] | W | 30 miles [48.3 km] | |
| Brandonville (WV) [Map] | NW | 32 miles [51.5 km] | |
| Bruceton Mills (WV) [Map] | W | 32 miles [51.5 km] | |
| Heathers Run (WV) [Map] | W | 32 miles [51.5 km] | |
| Kingwood (WV) [Map] | W | 32 miles [51.5 km] | |
| Rowlesburg (WV) [Map] | W | 33 miles [53.1 km] | |
| Tunnelton (WV) [Map] | W | 36 miles [57.9 km] | |
| Reedsville (WV) [Map] | W | 38 miles [61.2 km] | |
| Arthurdale (WV) [Map] | W | 39 miles [62.8 km] | |
| Masontown (WV) [Map] | W | 39 miles [62.8 km] | |
| Tucker (WV) | |||
| Davis (WV) [Map] | SW | 32 miles [51.5 km] | |
| Thomas (WV) [Map] | SW | 32 miles [51.5 km] | |
| Canaan Valley (WV) [Map] | SW | 38 miles [61.2 km] | |
| Hendricks (WV) [Map] | SW | 40 miles [64.4 km] | |
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bloomington, see our County-by-County Page for Bloomington.
Cemeteries Near Bloomington ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bloomington.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
If you click on the [Map] that follows each cemetery's name, a Google map will open showing a satellite view of the area where the cemetery is located. We have tried to place the cemetery in the center of the map, but we're still working on our data and the map might not not be centered properly. If you don't see the cemetery right away, try zooming-in. Usually, but not always, you can see the outline of the cemetery or some of the headstones.
If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bloomington covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
Newspapers Published in Bloomington ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bloomington.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bloomington, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bloomington.
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Bloomington had a population of 295 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bloomington, with the one closest to Bloomington listed first.
| Warnocks (WV) [Map] | |
| - | Located Less than 2 miles to the Southwest (SW) from Bloomington |
| - | Warnocks had railroad service and no post office |
| Piedmont (WV) [Map] | |
| - | Located Less than 2 miles to the East (E) from Bloomington |
| - | 1895 population of 2,100 people (with 813 people in 2017) |
| - | Piedmont had a post office and railroad service |
| Westernport [Map] | |
| - | Located Less than 2 miles to the East Northeast (ENE) from Bloomington |
| - | 1895 population of 1,526 people (with 1,767 people in 2017) |
| - | Westernport had a post office and railroad service |
| Windom (WV) - Historic [Map] | |
| - | While Windom was mentioned in the 1895 Atlas, it no longer exists |
| - | Located 2 miles [3.2 km] to the Southwest (SW) from Bloomington |
| - | Windom had a post office and railroad service |
| Barnum (WV) [Map] | |
| - | Located 3 miles [4.8 km] to the Southwest (SW) from Bloomington |
| - | Barnum had a post office and railroad service |
| Barton [Map] | |
| - | Located 4 miles [6.4 km] to the Northeast (NE) from Bloomington |
| - | 1895 population of 1,287 people (with 432 people in 2017) |
| - | Barton had a post office and railroad service |
| Floyd [Map] | |
| - | Located 4 miles [6.4 km] to the West Northwest (WNW) from Bloomington |
| - | Floyd had a post office and no railroad service |
| Shaw (WV) [Map] | |
| - | Located 5 miles [8 km] to the Southwest (SW) from Bloomington |
| - | 1895 population of 60 people |
| - | Shaw had a post office and railroad service |
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bloomington. The list can be found on our page for Communities Neighboring Bloomington in the 1890's.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to all and free to view - although it should be mentioned that they might link to other websites which do charge.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Bloomington:
These websites are specific to Maryland:
| Cyndi's List | Family Search | Genealogy Trails |
Website for the Maryland State Archives
Not to be confused with the official state website, we've found the Digital State Archives website for the State of Maryland to be a good source for additional links.
These pages are specific to Garrett County:
| Cyndi's List | Family Search | Genealogy Trails |
Genealogy information for nearby counties:
Cemetery Information and Directories for Maryland:
| Cyndi's List: | Cemeteries of Maryland, Cemeteries of Garrett County |
| Cemetery Junction: | Directory for Maryland |
| FamilySearch.org: | Cemetery Wiki for Maryland |
| Find-A-Grave: | Home Page |
| Internment.net: | Cemeteries for Maryland, for Garrett County |
Of Special Interest ...
The GenDisasters website specializes in newspaper articles about tragedies and disasters. While it makes interesting reading all by itself, it should be of special interest to genealogists and family historians looking for people who were either affected by or directly involved in such tragedies.
| Disaster Stories from Maryland |
| Also see Disaster Stories for ... |
| Pennsylvania |
| Virginia |
| West Virginia |
Miscellaneous References and Mentions for Bloomington ...
While our initial data about Bloomington came from various goverment sources, we have found mention of Bloomington in old books and maps. When we do, we'll find a fact here or a snippet there. We've created the following list to keep track of the documents we found useful in adding to our knowledge about Bloomington.
We hope that the following list of documents will be of interest to you.
Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide
Published by Rand McNally & Co.
(Document found on Google Books)
Notes for Bloomington:
- Services available at that time (1895): had Post Office, Railroad Station, Express Office
Both the GNIS and FIPS databases contain entries for Bloomington. See our Misc Page for Bloomington for more information.
Other Roadside Stops ...
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bloomington. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Garrett County: www.co.garrett.md.us/
The official website for State of Maryland: www.maryland.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bloomington) to Point B. If you need the driving distance, we recommend that you use one of the Mapping Services listed on our Map Page for Bloomington. Since we usually use Google Maps, we've provided the following link: Google Map and Driving Directions starting from Bloomington Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bloomington. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4801, Longitude: -79.0711 [Map]. In this case, the coordinates for Bloomington have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <3> | The Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MIHP (for the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties). More information about the MHT and MIHP can be found on their website: mht.maryland.gov. |
| <4> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Bloomington, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |