Blooming Grove's history reaches back to the small village of Gradyville, established in the 1860s and named for brothers R.J. and W.D. Grady, who operated the general store. After the area received a postal station in 1871, the name Blooming Grove was chosen, and Grady's store became the post office with W.H. Glass as postmaster. When a branch of the Cotton Belt Railroad opened there in 1888, Gradyville shifted one mile northeast toward the rail line and became known as Blooming Grove. Residents voted to incorporate in 1890, and T.J. Scarborough was elected first mayor, with T.H. Butcher as first city marshal. Always a rural community, Blooming Grove has depended heavily on cotton production and cattle raising for its economic base. Institutions that provided strength and continuity included churches founded in the Gradyville area and maintained in the townsite: Blooming Grove Methodist, Olive Grove Baptist, Blooming Grove Christian, and First Baptist. Public schools began in 1869, the Blooming Grove Masonic Lodge was chartered in 1888, and the newspaper Blooming Grove Times was founded in 1890.