The Bloomfield: University Park's First Home

Although , it was years before that the town's first home, The Bloomfield, was built.

Resident Tiegh Thompson, the caretaker of the town's graveyard that lies southwest of the property, said according to documents in 1759, The Deakins Family purchased a part of Edmonston's pasture. William Deakins, Sr. purchased the land for his family.

Although the family had roots in Georgetown, Thompson said, they kept the farmland in Maryland as an additional means of income.

Deakins built what was known as Deakins Hall, which was the first structure on the site. His son Col. Leonard Deakins, a Revolutionary War soldier who's now buried in the family cemetery, was the first resident of the Bloomfield and documents suggest the home was then given to the Colonel's son, William.

It didn't have the pillars it has today — those were an addition by J. Frank Rushe, after the University Park Company purchased the home in 1920. Rushe added the columns and began selling lots of land to create what is now known as University Park.

The 75th anniversary celebration will begin at 1:30 p.m. at The Bloomfield on Sunday.

Attached to this post are pictures of some of those buried on the grounds of the Bloomfield as well as pictures of the first home.

Look for stories from Patch this week that features bits of University Park's history. Test your knowledge and take our poll each day. The answer to the poll will be in following day's posted story at 6 p.m.