Bloomfield, a microcosm of American history, has seen multiple waves of immigration from various countries, as well as industrial growth throughout its history. It began as the John Conrad Winebiddle Plantation, providing beef for the soldiers fighting the Revolutionary War at Fort Pitt. Gen. George Washington referred to Bloomfield as the "high ground." Bloomfield was distinctively of German ethnicity for 100 years, and the Protestant Irish followed after the Civil War. Italians immigrated before World War I and well into the 1960s. The blending of these nationalities has produced a warm and friendly neighborhood that is launching into the 21st century. Bloomfield is a tribute to those who have cared for and loved their neighborhood.

Bloomfield was founded by Dutch farmers in 1691. The town grew in the 1700s, as the children of Connecticut Puritans, who had settled Newark, moved west to gain their own farmlands and build homes. The original township, formed in 1812, was 20.5 square miles and included Montclair, Nutley, Belleville, Glen Ridge, and the Woodside section of Newark. Aided by its location, excellent transportation facilities, and the availability of a large, skilled workforce, the town mushroomed from an agrarian community to a population of 47,000 with modern industries and attitudes. Bloomfield was founded by Dutch farmers in 1691. The town grew in the 1700s, as the children of Connecticut Puritans, who had settled Newark, moved west to gain their own farmlands and build homes. The original township, formed in 1812, was 20.5 square miles and included Montclair, Nutley, Belleville, Glen Ridge, and the Woodside section of Newark. Aided by its location, excellent transportation facilities, and the availability of a large, skilled workforce, the town mushroomed from an agrarian community to a population of 47,000 with modern industries and attitudes.

Founded in pre-Revolutionary days, Bloomfield encompassed over twenty miles of Essex County in the early 1800s. The neighboring towns of Nutley, Belleville, North Newark, Montclair, and Glen Ridge were once a part of the Bloomfield landscape. After divisions of the land developed new communities, Bloomfield was left with little more than five miles. When the Morris Canal was dug through the middle of Bloomfield in 1824, industrial and residential growth strengthened and the town became the hub of Essex County commerce and manufacturing. Bloomfield continued its reputation as a progressive community for the next 150 years. The photographs in Bloomfield capture the essence of a community with small-town values and working-class ethics. From the earliest tintypes to the planting of a time capsule, the lives and times of people and events that shaped the town are captured here for the first time, with many never-before-published photographs. Images such as those of inventor Thomas Edison, President Woodrow Wilson, and landscape painter Charles Warren Eaton make Bloomfield a delight for all past and present residents of this American hometown.