Bloomingdale

BLOOMINGDALE

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The Early Years

Map of Bloomingdale shows streets and platted land, businesses, names of prominent residents, and the K&SH Railroad. Henry Killefer's original property, highlighted in green, has gone to a warehouse, railroad tracks, a depot and property owned by W. Haven. Read business directory text below.

Image Credit: 1873 Atlas of Van Buren County

The text from the business directory in the above image reads:

"B. J. Root Station Agent.
Killefer and Haven, dealers in Dry Goods, Groceries Hardware, Boots, Shoes, Clothing, &c., also proprietors of Haven's Cheese Factory, and manufacturers and dealers in all kinds of Lumber.
William McMeekan, dealer in Millinery and Fancy Goods, Drugs, Medicines, Paints, Oils and Dy Stuffs.
William Kilheffer, dealer in Dry Goods, Groceries, Boots and Shoes, Clothing, Hats, Caps and Notions.
Marshall Ferguson, Justice of the Peace.
Harvey H. Howard, Supervisor of Bloomingdale Township, Residence Sec 4.
H.R. Bulson, M.D., Physician and Surgeon.
Lane and Cooley, manufacturers of and dealers in all kinds of Lumber, Mill on Sec. 6.
E Baughman, Highway Commissioner, Residence on Sec. 29.
Timothy Loehr, General Agent for the State of Michigan for the Geiser Threshing Machine, and most all kinds of Agricultural Implements, Residence on Sec. 32.
Samuel Lane, proprietor of the National Hotel, good Stabling in connection with Hotel.
E.B. Welch, Agent for the World Reaper and Mower for Van Buren County, Residence Sec. 82.
A. Stradley, Physician and Surgeon, Residence Sec. 32."

In 1857, Henry Killefer settled on land known today as Augustus Haven Park (noted in green on the map.) By the 1860s, Bloomingdale's first business district developed two blocks east of Van Buren Street. It was destroyed by fire in 1868. Two years later, entrepreneurs, driven by the opportunities provided by the new Kalamazoo & South Haven Railroad, platted the village you see today.

An early 20th-century black-and-white postcard titled 'A. Haven Park – Bloomingdale Mich.' Near the train depot, the park bustles with finely dressed pedestrians. The arched stone entrance is flanked by trees and there is a bandstand filled with musicians.

Augustus Haven was a farmer, merchant, teacher and township official. He donated the property for Bloomingdale's railroad depot in 1870. Image Credit: Sue Hodapp

A Town with Staying Power

Early 20th-century black-and-white postcard misidentifies a three-story building as the 'Bloomingdale Mining Company.' A sign stretching across the large wood-and-brick building reads: 'Definite Feeds for Definite Needs. Bloomingdale Milling Co.'

Image Credit: Dick Godfrey

The railroad's arrival in 1870 made large-scale lumber extraction possible. Within a year, two steam sawmills opened, followed by wood product manufacturers. Soon, the town had brick, butter and cheese makers and a milling company.

Bloomingdale continues to support diverse enterprises that help it prosper today.

Traveling to Inland Resorts

In an early twentieth-century black and white postcard titled 'The Bunch at Lily Point Villa, Bloomingdale, Mich.,' dozens of happy men, women and children are gathered outside a large white two-story building – some sit, others stand. The women and girls wear white blouses and long dark skirts, while the men and boys wear dark suits and ties. One young girl sits on the lawn in front of the group, while a big dog rolls at her knees.

Image Credit: Dick Godfrey

A 1906 postcard titled 'Lilly-Point' features a colorized photo and a small message area. A large white two-story building with many windows sits atop a grass-covered hill with a winding dirt road. A sunset peeks out from behind several tall bare trees. A handwritten note reads: 'Miss Marie Svenden:-Just received your letter and would be pleased to see you. Will hold a place for you. Yours Truly F.S. Merrifield.'

Image Credit: Dick Godfrey

An early twentieth-century black and white postcard titled 'Pond Lilies near Lily Point, Eagle Lake, Bloomingdale. Mich.' shows nine white cup-shaped flowers with short lance-like petals and dark centers floating on top of water. They float among glossy heart-shaped leaves and some slightly submerged saucer-shaped leaves.

Image Credit: Dick Godfrey

Bloomingdale was a transfer point for people traveling by train to inland resorts. In 1985, 94-year-old Olive Merrifield Dickerson was interviewed by the Kalamazoo Gazette for an article about Bloomingdale's history.

"Fringe-topped buggies from Lily Point Villa Resort on Eagle Lake met guests at the train station. Guests would come from Chicago by boat across Lake Michigan and would take the train from South Haven. They would enjoy the long summer evenings on the wide porches of the villa."

– Olive Merrifield Dickerson, granddaughter of Augustus and Emily Haven

Sides 1 and 2 of a postcard titled 'Lily Point Grounds. Bloomingdale, Mich.' Side 1 is a black and white photo of towering leafy trees between a lake and a trail that winds around a hill. A woman and man separately occupied lean against trees and a horse grazes near the lake. On Side 2, stamped '1903,' Nell writes Miss A. Hick of Chicago, Illinois: 'This is the hotel grounds across the lake from where we are staying also the dance hall where we expect to go to-night.'

Image Credit: Dick Godfrey

A stained and creased Dance Hall ticket has the number '47' Handwritten above the ticket information: 'Lily Point. Friday, August 1st,'

This dance hall ticket is a memento from Lily Point. Guests from other resorts could attend the dances. Image Credit: Dick Godfrey

The 1938 discovery of oil energized Bloomingdale's economy for several years.

A 1939 black and white close-up photo. A woman uses a scrub brush to remove spots from her oil-spattered wood home. She wears an old knit sweater and her short, dark hair is pulled back from her weathered face with a barrette.

After an oil well sprayed George and Elizabeth Homan's house, she tried to scrub off the stains. The revenue from the oil paid for the cost of their home. Image Credit: Dick Godfrey.

In a 1930s black and white photo, four men work on a small oil well. Two, wearing suits and hats, bend over pipes at the side of the well, while a third, also in suit and hat, stands in front, holding a pipe that extends from the highest point of the well down into the ground. At the back of the well, a man in work clothes turns a crank.

Murray No. 1 was Bloomingdale's first oil well. Image Credit: Dick Godfrey

In a 1939 black and white photo, five men dressed in work clothes lean casually against a building. Letters painted on a large glass window read: 'Gusher Inn. Restaurant. Dinners and Short Orders.'

Oil workers take a break at the Gusher Inn and Restaurant. Image Credit: Dick Godfrey

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