For the past few months, Images of the Past has shared a fascinating assortment of photos of Bloomfield from 1876. All were sold, if not made, by 19th century Bloomfield photographer T.A. Dunlap. Many of the photos were taken from atop the 1875 Bloomfield public school (above), which itself was the subject of this Dunlap stereo view made in 1876. This school was replaced by the old elementary school on the same site in 1903.

One of the striking stereo photos made from the schoolhouse bell tower was this image (below) of the courtyard before the one-block-square was cleared of many trees in November 1876 for construction to begin on the Davis County Courthouse the following year. This is the only pre-courthouse view of the public square I am aware of, but my guess is that there are others. This photo was from the late Doran Goode’s collection.  

                               — Rudy Evans | revans1953@gmail.com