Bloomington History Clock Tower Summary

1900 - 1918

Growth of Services in the Community

Farming continued to expand in Bloomington to include dairy cattle and the raising of sheep. Truck farming and vegetable stands became popular.

Townspeople identified with separate sections of town such as Bloomington, Bloomington Ferry, Oxboro Heath and Oak Grove. The community boasted of services that made life easier - two telephone companies, grocery stores, blacksmith shops, machine shops and garages for the new invention, the automobile. Colonel Marion Savage built a mansion overlooking the river and opened a freight business. It ran in conjunction with a passenger train service, the Dan Patch Line, named after Dan Patch, the colonel's world-famous pacing horse.

Voters in 1917 initiated a merger of the five existing rural schools. During this time, the population grew to around 2,500.

Watercolor renditions © 1996 by Elizabeth Hood Anderson, Artist. History Note Cards are a project of Bloomington Community Foundation and the Bloomington History Clock Tower Association.