Take a walk through Bloomington to meet the 1838 pioneers and their descendants. Clicking on a black circle will take you to the history page for that pioneer or a group of pioneers. 

 

Imagine the city as J. W. Billings described it: 

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“I picture in my mind the Bloomington of 1837, with its muddy streets, and I see the lone pedestrian, with pants in boots, wending his way to the post office, kept in a sixteen by twenty feet room; or I see the lady with skirts slightly raised, displaying a shining black bootee, daintily picking her steps along single planks, over ship piles and around mud puddles, to some store, where could be found many things between the needle and the anchor, a spool of thread, a bolt of muslin, a pound of tea, and tobacco, coffee, salertus, currycombs, molasses, etc., in promiscuous plenty.” 

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