Bloomfield Township
The following history is from the Clinton Herald, July 4, 1976:
Bloomfield was pieced together with parts of Brookfield, Berlin, and Welton townships in 1855, and was named for one of the first justices of peace in the township.
A fine corn-growing area, the land was almost naked of timber. One tree which stood alone on a high spot in the township became known to travelers as "The Lone Tree"
Just before the Civil War, settlers set up a Horse Thief Protection Society as an answer to the thievery plaguing the landowners. Some of the offenders even were pursued beyond the Missouri River.
The township's only town, Delmar, was platted in 1871 and prospered when new section of railroad track were extended into the town. One theory on how the town got its name states that when the first Midland railroad train arrived, the conductor took the first letters of the names of the six women on the train and combined them into Delmar. Another claims the railroad officials chose the name to continue the alphabetical order of those on the line, Almont, Bryant and Charlotte. The town was incorporated in 1876.
(Probably one of the original 6 Townships)
Bloomfield was originally a part of the territory embraced in Berlin, Welton and Brookfield townships, but in 1855 congressional townships 82 range and 83 north, range 3 east, were set off by the county authorities and by Russell Perham named Bloomfield. He was one of the first justices of the peace who served in the township.
At the date of its organization in 1855, in addition to Mr. Perham, Sylvanus S. Norton, and Alva McLaughlin there were among the early settlers Joseph Benjamin, Nicholas Koon, Joseph Willey, Anson Norton, N. and Eli Hatfield, Ben Ogden, Sr, O.J. Hinkley, Calvin Davis, Parvin Davis, Royal Goodenow, John and Solomen Smith, Abraham Names, James and Abe Walrod, John Q. Jenkins, Robert Williams, Henry C. Cowgill, Henry and William Gillett, Lewis De Laun, Levi Decker, David Rhodes, Peter Sleeper, John Brahmer, Peter Hoyt, Charles and John Riggs, Ransome Haines, Seneca Williams, Dean Davis, Jacob Bollinger, John Burgess, Thomas Snowden and Truman Clark.
(Wolfe's History of Clinton County, Iowa, Volume 1,
By Patrick B. Wolfe, 1911)
TOWNS
Brookfield: 10 Dec 1850-05 Jan 1872 - Renamed Delmar
Delmar: 06 Jan 1872 - Current
1925 Atlas of Clinton County Bloomfield Twp. Farmer's Directory
CEMETERIES
SCRAPBOOK
Chuck Seyfert has an old scrapbook from his great great grandmother that has obits, wedding announcements and other odds and ends from back in the day, as he calls it. It’s all local stuff, meaning Delmar, Elwood, Lost Nation and Maquoketa. It spans the years roughly 1885-1935. There’s hundreds of entries, so if anyone is looking for an obit or wedding announcement from that era, he’ll be happy to see if he has it.
Here is an index for the scrapbook