Bootheel
Bloomfield: Stoddard County seat and the Stars and Stripes Museum
Bloomfield is the Stoddard County seat on Crowley's Ridge, home to the county courthouse and the National Stars and Stripes Museum and Library, which ties the town to the newspaper's 1861 Civil War origin.
Bloomfield is the county seat of Stoddard County. It sits on Crowley’s Ridge in the Bootheel. The county courthouse is in Bloomfield, so this is where county government and records are based. The courthouse square is the civic center of the county.
Bloomfield is also home to the National Stars and Stripes Museum and Library. It is tied to Stars and Stripes, the U.S. military newspaper.
If you want to visit, check the days, hours, and admission on the museum’s official site before you go. That way you get the current details and the museum’s own account of how the newspaper started.
The museum says the paper was “born in Bloomfield in 1861,” during the Civil War, and it keeps everything from the first Civil War editions to the modern era.
Where to see it
- National Stars and Stripes Museum and Library
Check the museum's own page for current hours and exhibits.
References
More from Stoddard County: browse every local note for the county.
Last checked against the sources above: June 20, 2026.