page_title: Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania / History
caption_attribution_description: English: This was taken with a Sony CyberShot in Bloomsburg, PA, USA.
context_page_description: Bloomsburg is a town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States, located 40 miles southwest of Wilkes-Barre along the Susquehanna River. It is the county seat of Columbia County and the only Pennsylvania municipality incorporated as a "town". As of the 2010 census, Bloomsburg had a population of 14,855, with an estimated population of 13,811 in 2019.
  Bloomsburg is one of two principal communities of the Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Columbia and Montour counties, and had a combined population of 85,562 at the 2010 census.
context_section_description: The first signs of European settlement date to the year 1772, when James McClure established a log cabin in the area. Until the mid-19th century, it was just a small village, known as Bloom Township. Traditionally, Bloomsburg's founding in 1802 has been ascribed to settler Ludwig Eyer, son of Johann Martin Eyer, acting as agent for his brother Johann Adam. For 75 years after the discovery of ore in the area, Bloomsburg developed a booming iron industry.
  Since its incorporation on March 4, 1870, Bloomsburg has held the distinction of being the only town in Pennsylvania. While other municipalities may be colloquially referred to as towns, they are all officially classified as either cities, boroughs, or townships. One particular point of confusion regards McCandless Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, which remains a township despite taking the name "Town of McCandless" when adopting a home rule charter in 1975. Bloomsburg's slogan of "The only incorporated town in Pennsylvania" reflects its unique status.
  The Bloomsburg Historic District and Rupert Covered Bridge No. 56 are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  On 28 October 2015, a North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) blimp broke free from Aberdeen Proving Ground and headed north, taking out the town's power supply as it went.
caption: A marker behind the airport showing the height of the river during historic floods (the dirt mark is from the 2006 floods).
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