October 3 marks the 190^th anniversary of the naming of Bloomfield.

In a long travelogue published in the Hallowell Free Press on 28 September 1833 (available in full by clicking here), the correspondent made the following description.

“About halfway between Hallowell and Wellington there is the commencement of a fine village, which for want of a proper name I shall call Whitesville. It is well situated upon the side of a gentle acclivity, and already consists of about 12 or 14 well built and cleanly looking houses.”

Perhaps taking this as something of a gauntlet thrown to the community, local citizens organized a meeting that took place on the third of October. They published the following notice in the paper on the 14^th:

“NOTICE. AT a meeting held at George Munros’ Inn, on the third inst. it was resolved by a majority of the Inhabitants of that thriving Village, situated about five miles from the Village of Hallowell, on the leading road to the Carrying Place, should be called BLOOMFIELD.”

In a somewhat satirical response, the Hallowell Free Press in the next issue published the following note:

“We request the attention of our readers at Bloomfield, to the following extract from an Irish paper. Bloomfield, or as we in our ignorance, were pleased to denominate it Whitesville, is upon the whole, a very pretty place. The country surrounding it, is extremely fertile, and highly cultivated. We question after perusing the following extract, whether the inhabitants of Skunkville, will be altogether pleased with the name they have given it.”

The extract tells the story of how Lord Bloomfield’s family came to the possession of their estate in Ireland, long ago. Apparently, the original owner was so disappointed with the situation of the place that he gave it away and went back to Dublin!

Another tradition in the County used the significant feature of the village in the early 19^th century, John Bull’s grist mills, but it is noteworthy that “Bull’s Mills” is not mentioned by any party in the 1833 newspaper exchange. In fact, the citizens of the village seem to studiously avoid it as well as “Whitesville.”

We confess to being unable to find a nearby Skunkville, and suspect that the Hallowell Free Press was simply feeling a rivalry with the newly established village.

We at the Picton Gazette harbour no such rivalries and wish to congratulate the citizens of not Bull’s Mills, Whitesville, nor Skunkville, but BLOOMFIELD, on the anniversary of their name.