Bloom, Kansas - A Ford County town that bloomed and died

I went to Bloom this June 2012 during the Kansas wheat harvest. I wasn't sure what I'd find. I met a guy named Ben Holt who told me to find Sam Scott, whose grandparents started the town. It turned out to be quite an interesting story.

I guess every town really does have a story.

Short excerpt:

The town of Bloom was started in 1887 when the Rock Island was built through southwestern Kansas. It soon became an important town with grain elevators, hotels and many business establishments.

But, with progress, Bloom died. By 1894 the town was off the map. The last building moved from the townsite was the post office, which was hauled away in the fall of 1894. Today, little is left. The grain elevator remains in business for the local farm economy.

Bloom school property.
The old gym now serves as Lighthouse Baptist Church. The church is actually built inside the WPA structure because the roof kept blowing off.

A cross in the weeds advertises the church.

An old fuel stop.

The pillars of the Bloom School. It's all that is left of the actual school.