History:

The City of Bloomingdale is located approximately fifteen miles west of downtown Savannah. In 1833, construction began on the Central of Georgia Railroad through Bloomingdale from Savannah to Macon, Georgia. During construction of the railroad, settlers started building homes along the freshly laid tracks. In 1841, the community was established with most settlers farming or logging until the railroad was constructed. As the story goes, the area was named “Bloomingdale” by the railroad engineers because of the wild flowers that grew along the tracks. During General William T. Sherman’s march through Georgia in 1864 the railroad lines in Bloomingdale were destroyed, but were later rebuilt. Union Camp Corporation opened a paper mill in the mid-1930’s that provided new jobs for the residents.

The Alpha Methodist Church, established in 1841 and located in Bloomingdale, is one of the oldest Methodist congregations in the State of Georgia. 

The City incorporated in 1974 with a population of approximately 1700 residents. Since that time, through growth and annexations, the City’s population has increased to 2665. 

The City of Bloomingdale has produced two Olympic medalists in the past 40 years—something not every town can brag about. Lucinda Williams Adams or “Lady Dancer”, as she was called, ran the third leg of the 4 x 100 meter relay that won her and her teammates a gold metal in the 1960 Rome Olympics. Cheryl Haworth, America’s youngest medal-winner ever, competed as a member of the first U.S. Women’s Olympic Weightlifting Team and won the bronze medal in the women’s 75-kilo-plus class weightlifting competition in the 2000 Summer Olympics held in Sidney, Australia. Both medalists were born and raised in Bloomingdale.