Bloomington, Whitchurch-Stouffville

Bloomington is a hamlet in York Region, Ontario, Canada, in the town of Whitchurch-Stouffville. The hamlet is centred at the intersection of Ninth Line and Bloomington Road near the eastern boundary of the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville. Neighbouring communities within Whitchurch–Stouffville include Musselman Lake to the north, Lemonville to the west, and the community of urban Stouffville to the south. The hamlet of Goodwood in the town of Uxbridge lies to the east.^[1]

Bloomington
Unincorporated community
Coordinates: 44°0′24″N 79°15′51″W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Regional municipality	York Region
Town	Whitchurch–Stouffville
Amalgamation	(With Town of Stouffville) 1 January 1971
As postal hamlet	1869
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Mayor	Iain Lovatt
• Councillor, Ward 4	Rick Upton
• Councillor, Ward 5	Richard Bartley
Elevation	320 m (1,050 ft)
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Forward sortation area	L4A
Area codes	905 and 289

History

The first settlers arrived in the early 19th century, and were largely Quakers, Mennonites and United Empire Loyalists who had left the United States. The first postmaster, Samuel Patterson, registered the name Bloomington in 1869, likely after the city of Bloomington, Illinois.^[2]

There are a few reminders of the old hamlet that remain:

• Bloomington Schoolhouse - located at 13681 Ninth Line was built in 1898 as School Section No. 10 (with addition from 1952) and closed before 1971 and is now a private residence.^[3]

• Bloomington Cove Care Community - located on Ninth Line south of Bloomington Side Road

• Bloomington Gospel Church - built in 1874 the church dates back to 1833 and earlier church building on the east side of the Ninth Line

Economy

Bloomington is primarily agricultural area, however some land is being developed for housing and few commercial businesses.

References

1. See the detailed 1878 map: Township of Whitchurch, Illustrated historical atlas of the county of York and the township of West Gwillimbury & town of Bradford in the county of Simcoe, Ont. (Toronto: Miles & Co., 1878).
2. For a thorough account of Bloomington's history, cf. Jean Barkey et al., Whitchurch Township Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine (Erin, ON: Boston Mills, 1993), 100-102.
3. Bolan, Sandra (May 29, 2014). "Stouffville couple will go to school during Doors Open". Metroland Media Group Ltd. Retrieved November 20, 2021.