The city of Bridgeport is located in Fairfield County in the southern part of the state on the Long Island Sound. It is Connecticut’s most populous city. Settled in the mid-17th century as part of the township of Stratford, Bridgeport incorporated as a town in 1821 and a city in 1836. While early settlers farmed and fished, they soon took advantage of their location on Black Rock Harbor and shifted from an agrarian community to a mercantile and manufacturing hub. When the railroad opened in 1840, the city became a booming industrial center and produced everything from sewing machines to ammunition.
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A Unique Island Attraction in Bridgeport
When Bridgeport annexed the borough of West Stratford in 1889, the acquisition came with a a small 37-acre parcel of land on a barrier island at the mouth of Bridgeport Harbor. …[more]
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Video
Bridgeport Downtown Special Services District. Jane & Laurayne’s Walk. The Recinos Company, 2020. Link.
Places
Bridgeport Public Library. “Bridgeport History Center,” 2017. Link.
Connecticut Freedom Trail. “Mary and Eliza Freeman Houses,” 2017. Link.
“The Barnum Museum,” 2017. Link.
Connecticut Freedom Trail. “Walters Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church,” 2017. Link.
Documents
Connecticut State Library Digital Collections. “Bridgeport - WPA Architectural Survey,” 2013. Link.
“Bridgeport Collection.” Connecticut Digital Archive, n.d. Link.
Porter, Wils. “Bridgeport, Conn., 1882.” Bird’s-eye Map. New York: W.O. Laughna, 1882. Connecticut History Online, Connecticut Historical Society. Link.
Google News Archive. “Digitized Historic Newspaper - Bridgeport Herald (1897-1910),” 2017. Link.
Google News Archive. “Digitized Historic Newspaper - Bridgeport Morning News,” 2017. Link.
Library of Congress, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. “Digitized Historic Newspaper - Republican Farmer (Various Dates),” 2017. Link.
Library of Congress, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. “Digitized Historic Newspaper - The Bridgeport Evening Farmer (1910-1922),” 2017. Link.
Library of Congress, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. “Digitized Historic Newspaper - The Bridgeport Times and Evening Farmer (1918-1922),” 2017. Link.
O.H. Bailey & Company. “Map - View of Bridgeport, CT.” Milwaukee, WI: O.H. Bailey & Company, 1875. University of Connecticut Libraries, Map and Geographic Information Center - MAGIC. Link.
Hubbell, Harvey. Patent Number 471,612 - Electric Switch. 471,612. Bridgeport, CT, issued March 29, 1892. Link.
Books
Orcutt, Rev. Samuel. A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Vol. 1. New Haven, CT: Tuttle Morehouse & Taylor, 1886. Link.
Orcutt, Rev. Samuel. A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Vol. 2. New Haven, CT: Tuttle Morehouse & Taylor, 1886. Link.
Black Rock Civic and Business Men’s Club, Bridgeport, Conn. Black Rock: A Bicentennial Picture Book: A Visual History of the Old Seaport of Bridgeport, Connecticut, 1644 to 1976. Edited by Dick Jones and Charles W. Brilvitch. Bridgeport, CT: Black Rock Civic and Business Men’s Club, 1976.
Del Bianco, Sue. Bridgeport. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 1999.
Pehanick, Andrew. Bridgeport. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2005.
Pehanick, Andrew. Bridgeport, 1900-1960. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2009.
Palmquist, David. Bridgeport: A Pictorial History. Norfolk, VA: Donning, 1981.
Lehman, Eric D. Bridgeport: Tales from the Park City. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2009.
Bridgeport Board of Trade. Glimpses of Bridgeport, Conn. Bridgeport, CT: Marigold Printing Company, 1898. Link.
Black Rock Civic and Business Men’s Club, and Ivan Justinius. History of Black Rock, 1644-1955. Bridgeport, CT: Antoniak Printing Service, 1955. Link.
Hurd, D. Hamilton, ed. History of Fairfield County, Connecticut with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Philadelphia, PA: J.W. Lewis & Company, 1881. Link.
Grimaldi, Lennie. Only in Bridgeport: An Illustrated History of the Park City. Northridge, CA: Windsor Publications, 1986.
Fairfield Historical Society, and Charles Brilvitch. Walking Through History: The Seaports of Black Rock and Southport. Fairfield, CT: Fairfield Historical Society, 1977.
Bielawa, Michael. Wicked Bridgeport. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2012.