Biohazard Cleanup Near Trail View Bloomington, IN

Bloomington is the county seat of Monroe County in southern Indiana, located about 50 miles south of Indianapolis.

Bloomington was established in 1818 by settlers from Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas and Virginia who were so impressed with "a haven of blooms" that they named the town for them; it was incorporated in 1827.

When Monroe County was organized in 1818, Bloomington became the county seat, and its first courthouse was a log cabin serving a town of about 30 families.

Bloomington is home to Indiana University Bloomington, founded in 1820 as the state seminary — Indiana's first public institution of higher learning — just two years after the city itself was founded.

Indiana University Bloomington is the flagship and largest campus of Indiana University, enrolling a record 48,424 students in fall 2024 on a campus of roughly 1,937 acres.

The 2020 census counted 79,168 residents in Bloomington, which ranked among the largest cities in Indiana.

Bloomington has about 34,500 households, but only about 35% of its homes are owner-occupied — a heavily renter-based housing market shaped by the huge student population.

The Bloomington area is famous for Salem limestone, quarried locally since at least 1827 and used in landmark buildings across America, including the Empire State Building, the Pentagon and the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

Indiana University's campus is entered through the Sample Gates, a limestone gateway built in 1987 at the head of Kirkwood Avenue.

Bryan Park, established in 1951, is one of Bloomington's most popular parks, while Lower Cascades, established in 1924, was the city's first park.