History of Bridgeport, Connecticut

The history of Bridgeport, Connecticut was, in the late 17th and most of the 18th century, one of land acquisitions from the native inhabitants, farming and fishing. From the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century, Bridgeport's history was one of shipbuilding, whaling and rapid growth. Bridgeport's growth accelerated even further from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century with the advent of the railroad, Industrialization, massive immigration, labor movements until, at its peak population in 1950, Bridgeport with some 159,000 people was Connecticut's second most populous city. In the late 20th century, Bridgeport's history was one of deindustrialization and declining population, though it overtook Hartford as the state's most populous city by 1980.

Early years

Much of the land that became Bridgeport was originally occupied by the Pequonnock Indians of the Paugussett nation. One village consisted of about five or six hundred inhabitants in approximately 150 lodgings.

Other than Black Rock and Parts of Brooklawn which were originally part of the township of Fairfield, Bridgeport was originally a part of the township of Stratford. The first English settlement on the west bank of the mouth of the Pequonnock River was made in about 1665 and was called Pequonnock. (Some sources have the first settlement as early as 1639 or 1659.) This village was renamed Newfield sometime before 1777. More people settled further inland and to the West and the area collectively became known as Fairfield Village in 1694, a name that was officially changed to Stratfield in 1701, likely due to its location between the already existing towns of Stratford and Fairfield. The ecclesiastical history of Bridgeport begins with the formation of the Stratfield Ecclesiastical Society in 1678 for the purpose of forming a school, with reference to a pastor ministering in Stratfield as early as 1688; and the establishment of a Congregational Church in 1695.

During the American Revolution, Bridgeport was a center of privateering. Captain David Hawley of Stratfield brought a number of prizes into Black Rock Harbor and farming, much like other towns in New England. The city's location on the deep Newfield harbor (mouth of the Pequonnock) fostered a boom in shipbuilding and whaling in the mid-19th century. To aid navigation, Bridgeport Harbor Light was constructed in 1851 and reconstructed in 1871. Bridgeport's growth accelerated after the opening of a railroad to the city in 1840. Bridgeport was connected by rail first to New Milford in 1840, then Waterbury and New Haven in 1848, and New York City in 1849.

In the 1820s, about the time Connecticut abolished slavery, free blacks started settling in a neighborhood that became known as " Little Liberia", whose oldest surviving buildings date to 1848 and are Connecticut's oldest African-American houses.

In the 1830s, East Bridgeport was still largely farmland but the construction of foot and general traffic bridges over the Pequonnock in the 1840s and 1850s opened the area to development and it was not long before the area became a major area for industry.

Bridgeport annexed Black Rock and its busy harbor in 1870. The annexation added Black Rock Harbor Light to the city's navigation aids and, in 1874, Penfield Reef Light was soon added on the south side of Black Rock harbor. Bridgeport harbor remained active and Tongue Point Light was constructed in 1895 to mark its west boundary.

In the late 19th century, Bridgeport became the county seat of Fairfield County. County government was abolished in Connecticut in 1960, but the Fairfield County Courthouse built in 1888 still stands as testimony to that time in Bridgeport's history.

In 1902, rail traffic was simplified with the addition of the Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge. Trolley service also came to Bridgeport and, in 1910, a major repair and storage facility, the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company Car Barn, was constructed in downtown Bridgeport.

Abraham Lincoln's visit

In February 1860, Abraham Lincoln came east to speak at Cooper Union in New York City, where on February 27 he impressed eastern Republicans as an intelligent, dignified statesman and gained support in his bid for the presidential nomination. Since the speech went over well, he made several others (all similar to his Cooper Union speech) in Connecticut and Rhode Island, traveling by train to various cities. After stopping in Providence, Norwich, Hartford, Meriden and New Haven, he made his final speech in the evening of Saturday, March 10, in Bridgeport.Holzer, Harold, ''Lincoln at Cooper Union,'' (Simon & Schuster: New York), 2004 Chapter 8: "Unable to Escape This Toil," p. 201

His train was scheduled to stop at 10:27 a.m. in Bridgeport, and he likely met with Republican leaders. "He was entertained at the home of Mr. Frederick Wood at 67 Washington Avenue, and it is said that there he had his first experience with New England fried oysters," wrote Nelson R. Burr in ''Abraham Lincoln: Western Star Over Connecticut.'' "Another tradition is that while he stayed in Bridgeport a little girl, Mary A. Curtis of Stratford, presented him with a bouquet of flowers and a bunch of salt hay from the Stratford meadows. ... Where the flowers came from at that season, and how the hay could be cheerfully green, is not explained."Burr, Raymond F., ''Abraham Lincoln: Western Star Over Connecticut,'' Lithographics Inc., Canton, Connecticut (no year given), pages 1 and 15; book contents reprinted by permission of the ''Lincoln Herald,'' (Harrogate, Tennessee) Summer, Fall and Winter, 1983 and Spring and Summer, 1984

Lincoln spoke in Washington Hall, an auditorium at what was then Bridgeport City Hall (now McLevy Hall), at the corner of State and Broad streets. Not only was the largest room in the city packed, but a crowd formed outside made up of people who could not get in. He received a standing ovation before taking the 9:07 p.m. train that night back to Manhattan. A plaque now stands at the site in Bridgeport where he gave the speech.

Other notables who gave speeches in Bridgeport include Martin Luther King Jr., who spoke three times at the Klein Auditorium in 1961, 1964 and 1966 and at Central High School in 1962; and President George W. Bush who spoke before a small, selected group of Connecticut business people and officials about health care reform at the Playhouse on the Green, just across the street from McLevy Hall, in 2006.

Barnum

The city's most famous resident has been circus-promoter and once-mayor P.T. Barnum, who built four houses in the city ( Iranistan and Waldemere were the most renowned) and housed his circus in-town during winters. The Barnum Museum, housed in a building that was originally contracted for construction by P. T. Barnum himself, has an extensive collection related to P. T. Barnum and the history of Bridgeport. In 1949, Bridgeport initiated a Barnum Day parade which has grown into an annual multi-day festival. Barnum, as well as many other notables, is buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport, in the park-like setting he designed.

The Park City

The of Washington Park in East Bridgeport were first set aside as a park in 1851 by William H. Noble and P. T. Barnum, with the land being deeded to the city in 1865. As the city rapidly grew in population, residents recognized the need for more public parks. In 1863, ''The Standard'' urged the creation of one or more public parks in the city and a movement to create a park along Long Island Sound and Black Rock Harbor

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