BLOOMFIELD

A field a glow with yellow, wildflowers was the inspiration for the naming of Bloomfield; a community in the southeast part of Cooke County, five miles northwest of Pilot Point.

Mrs. Angeline Jackson gave the town its name when the post office was established in 1875 and her brother, Crockett Robison, who operated a store, was first postmaster. Alford Robison, who came to Texas from Tennessee before the civil war, was probably Bloomfield’s first settler. His wife had died and he brought his children to Texas settled in southeast Cooke County.

Crockett Robison a son was the first postmaster and he and another brother; Claude operated the first cotton gin at Bloomfield, to which cotton was hauled from a wide area of south and east Cooke County.

Two other sons, um and Grant Robison, were killed by a lighting bolt during the civil war, when they were on guard duty in South Texas.

Oldest living citizen of Bloomfield today (this story was printed in 1976) is Mrs . . . . B. Forrestor, 80, who came form Tennessee when she was four years of age with her family. She is a niece of Crockett Robison, the first postmaster, and the latters daughter. Mrs. Frank Jones still resides in the community.

Other early settlers in the area included Perry Pierce, Jeff Montomerty, Recce Jones, Louis Jordan, Robert Jones, Pat and Steve Saunders, Parson Boling and Alex Davis.

In the early days mail was carried by horseback from McKinney to Gainesville, via Pilot Point, Bloomfield and Mountain Springs, twice a week. The post office was discontinued in 1908, when Bloomfield was placed on Pilot Point rural route No. 1. J. D. Bushong was the last post master operating a store there. Previously, W. B. Dameron had served as postmaster for a number of years.

The town which is one and one-half miles from the Denton County line on the south, and three miles from Grayson County line on the east., reached its highest development about 1882, and there were five stores, including Bailew and Williams, who had groceries and drugs in two buildings; C. E. Blackburn, dry goods and groceries; Andy Boling, dry goods and groceries; O. C. Brewer, blacksmith, and Claude and Crocke Robison cotton gin. A flour mill and corn mill were operated in connection with the gin. At 0ne time, Alex Gilham had a picture gallery in the community. The gin was moved to Burn City about 1902 and the flour mill was discontinued in 1899. Last operators of the gin were D. W. Robison, C. B. Callaham and Mrs. Fannie Robison.

The first school was established in the community in 1879 and F. E. Runion was the first teacher. Some years later, the community became spilt over the location of a school building, and two structures were built, one in the east and one in the west side of the school district. Both of these were blown away by a tornado about 1888 and there after the citizens got together and rebuilt the school on the west side of town. Bloomfield was included in the school consolidation of 1929 when the Union Grove school district was created.

Methodists of Bloomfield organized in 1880, meeting in the school building with the Rev. Horn as minister. Baptists and Church of Christ adherents disorganized congregations in the community, meeting in the school building. No churches were built in Bloomfield and Mount Pleasant Baptist is now the nearest church to the community.

Bloomfield’s oldest citizen was Dr. John S. Riley, who came to Bloomfield to practice medicine in 1871, settling two miles west of Bloomfield. He was an uncle of the famous poet, James Whitcomb Riley, and came to Texas from Mississippi after serving in the Mexican and Civil Wars, locating in Burleson County. From there he came to Cooke County settling two miles west of Bloomfield, where he lived on one farm 44 years, passing away at the age of 101 years and six months in 1915.

Other physicians who served the Bloomfield community included Drs. Orsborn, P. U. Painter, J. J. Shipley, Sam Hodge, Carl Ledbetter and Murphy, S. M. Davis served as justice of the peace of the precinct for a number of years and J. H. Saunders was constable.

Information from Texas On-Line and The Gainesville Register August 1948.