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is a town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Wilkes Barre along the Susquehanna River. In 1900, the population of Bloomsburg stood at 6,170; in 1910, 7,413; in 1940, 9,799, and in 1990, 12,439. The population was 12,375 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Columbia County and the only incorporated town in Pennsylvania.
Bloomsburg is one of two principal communities of the Bloomsburg–Berwick Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Columbia and Mountour counties and had a combined population of 82,387 at the 2000 census.
The first signs of European settlement date to the year 1772, when James McClure established a log cabin in the area. Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was just a small village, known as the Bloom Township.
For more than a century, starting from its incorporation on March 4, 1870, Bloomsburg held the distinction of being the only incorporated town in Pennsylvania. While other municipalities are often commonly referred to as towns, they were all officially classified as either cities, boroughs, or townships. Bloomsburg still uses the slogan of "The only TOWN in Pennsylvania," and state government publications continue to describe Bloomsburg as "the only incorporated town" in Pennsylvania. However, in 1975, McCandless Township, in Allegheny County adopted a home rule charter under the name "Town of McCandless".