Page last updated on December 11, 2025 at 10:33 am
The city of Bloomington was established in 1818 by a group of settlers from Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Virginia who were so impressed with "a haven of blooms" that they called it Bloomington. The area in which Bloomington is situated was previously inhabited by the Delaware, Potawatomi, Miami, and Eel River Miami.*
The following is a list of the mayors who have served Bloomington since 1847.
| 1847 | John Lawrence | |
| 1848 | David H. Maxwell | |
| 1851 | John Throop | |
| 1852- Nov 1852 | John P Reder | |
| 1852-1853 | Johnathan Moon | |
| March 1853-1857 | Samuel Bonsall | |
| 1858-1878 | Bloomington Unincorporated | |
| 1876-1878 |  | Carey W. Henderson |
| 1878-1885 |  | Clelland F. Dodds |
| 1887-1891 |  | Morey M. Dunlap |
| 1891-1897 |  | Lawrence Van Buskirk |
| 1897-1902 |  | A.M. Hadley |
| 1902-1904 |  | Frank J. Dunn |
| 1904-1909 |  | Claude G. Malott |
| 1910-1918 |  | John Harris |
| 1918-1921 |  | W.W. Weaver |
| 1922-1925 | | John Harris |
| 1925 |  | Lynn B Lewis |
| 1926-1930 |  | John L Hetherington |
| 1930-1934 |  | Joseph H Campbell |
| 1935-1939 |  | Arthur H Berndt |
| 1939-1947 |  | Loba "Jack" Bruner |
| 1948-1952 |  | Tom Lemon |
| 1952-1956 |  | Emmett Kelley |
| 1956-1962 | | Tom Lemon |
| 1962-1964 |  | Mary Alice Dunlap |
| 1964-1971 |  | John Hooker |
| 1972-1982 |  | Frank X. McCloskey |
| 1983-1995 | 
| Tomilea Allison |
| 1995-2004 |  | John Fernandez |
| 2004-2016 |  | Mark Kruzan |
| 2016-2023 |  | John Hamilton
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