A brief history of Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport,
Connecticut’s largest city, is known as "The Park City" was the city
that Barnum built. Phineas Taylor Barnum you know him better as P.T.
was the showman turned mayor who made this port city into a major
manufacturing center during the early 19th century. By the time his
term ended, Bridgeport was well known throughout the United States and
the world. Barnum was involved in every aspect of the everyday life of
the city. In particular, he spent a lot of his energy improving the
steamboat industry since Bridgeport was already an important hub of
transportation. In 1883 Barnum went to England to buy an enormous
elephant called “Jumbo” for his circus. However P.T. Barnum's star
attraction would be Charles S. Stratton, "General Tom Thumb"--who was
born in Bridgeport. The Barnum Museum exhibits colorful circus
memorabilia and celebrates the creator of the Greatest Show on Earth.
Barnum laid out parks and roads and even designed Mountain Grove
Cemetery where he is buried. The much-publicized socialist mayor Jasper
McLevy was elected here in 1933 to begin a 24-year administration. Some
of his achievements included bringing in Elias Howe and his Singer
sewing machines, and building and donating The Barnum Museum to the
city. Bridgeport was also the home of the original Frisbee Pie whose
plate is now better known than the pie it contained. The Remington Corporation's global headquarters was created on
August 9, 1867, when the Union Metallic Cartridge Company was
incorporated which became Remington U.M.C. in 1912. It was particularly
noted for its development of metallic cartridges and supplying
ammunition for the Russian Revolution and World War II. The Remington
Arms and Union Metallic Cartridge Company was said to be the largest
structure of the time under one roof, broke records also for being
built under breakneck speed, being built in essentially only eight
months. The shot tower is now used by Bridgeport Habitat as its
lock-up. Because of its strategic importance, NIKE bases (dismantled in
the early 90’s) were built in neighboring communities to protect the
city. Now Remington is known for its electric razors. Yet another
example of how over the years Bridgeport has transitioned from an
industrial to a service based economy. Today the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company
provides daily ferry service between Bridgeport and Port Jefferson,
Long Island from their new terminal and docking facility and major
transportation hub. Harbor Yard, the new home of the popular Bridgeport
Bluefish Professional Baseball team – now the most successful minor
league team in the USA and home field for Sacred Heart University.
Other Bridgeport attractions include the Beardsley Zoo, which has a
proud history of over 75 years as Connecticut’s only zoo. Captain’s
Cove Seaport, home to the HMS Rose, The world's largest active wooden
sailing vessel a full-rigged ship, a replica of an 18th century Royal
Navy frigate that cruised the American coast during the American
Revolution. The Discovery Museum, Housatonic Museum of Art, Klein
Memorial Auditorium, Shoreline Star Greyhound Park and Entertainment
Complex, Downtown Cabaret Theater, and Polka Dot Playhouse. Bridgeport
Harbor Lighthouse and the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Youth Orchestras.
Black Rock Harbor is sheltered by Fayerweather Island, which made the
island an ideal place for a lighthouse to mark the harbor entrance. In
1807 the federal government purchased 9 1/2 acres on the island from
David Fayerweather for $200, and $5000 was appropriated for the new
light station. The following year the first Fayerweather Island
Lighthouse, an octagonal wooden tower, was built on the south end of
the island. The city, the most populous in the state, is a port on Long
Island Sound at the mouth of the Pequonnock River. Black Rock Harbor is
a deep, protected harbor that developed as a trade port and
shipbuilding center in the 18th century. Black Rock was once part of
Fairfield, but now is a neighborhood of the city of Bridgeport. Settled
in 1639, it was first known as Newfield and later as Stratfield. In
1800 it was incorporated as a borough and named Bridgeport for the
first drawbridge over the river. Bridgeport's advantageous geographic location, situated
around an excellent harbor on the Long Island Sound, encouraged the
early settlers to shift from agrarian to mercantile and manufacturing
pursuits. It grew from a whaling center into an industrial center after
the opening of the railroad in 1840. In the 19th century Bridgeport's
industries produced carriages, brass and cast-iron fittings, sewing
machines, tools, saddlery, and ammunition. The first electric light
socket with a pull chain was patented by Harvey Hubbell of Bridgeport,
CT in 1896. This design is still in use. By the 1930s the community had
almost 500 manufacturing firms. In the late 20th century Bridgeport
remained a manufacturing center, producing electrical and
transportation equipment, plastics, and machine tools however the loss
of thousands of manufacturing jobs left many unemployed. Bridgeport
also had problems with unemployment, pollution, drugs, and crime in its
inner-city neighborhoods.
The Connecticut Post and Bridgeport News are our local newspapers.
The city is the home of the University of Bridgeport (1927) and
Housatonic Community-Technical College (1966). Inc. town, 1821; city,
1836; town and city consolidated, 1836. Pop. (1990) city, 141,686;
Bridgeport PMSA, 443,722; (1996 est.) city, 137,990; Bridgeport PMSA,
443,637.
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