Place:Bridgeport, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States

Alt namesNewfieldsource: Encyclopædia Britannica (1988) II, 513
Pequannocksource: Family History Library Catalog
Stratfieldsource: Encyclopædia Britannica (1988) II, 513
Coordinates41.167°N 73.2°W
Located inFairfield, Connecticut, United States     (1639 - )


Research Tips

Bridgeport - named 1800, incorporated 1821 from Fairfield and Stratford. Formerly called Stratfield or Newfield. - Ricker, 11.

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Bridgeport is the most populous city in the state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County on the Pequonnock River and Long Island Sound, the city had a population of 144,229 in the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area.

The city is part of the Greater New York City Combined Statistical Area. It is the fifth-largest city in New England (behind Boston, Worcester, Providence and Springfield). Bridgeport is the center of the 48th-largest urban area in the United States, just behind Hartford (47th). Much of Bridgeport was originally a part of the township of Stratford.

English colonists began settling the city in the 1640s, obtaining land from the Paugussett Indian tribe. The settlement became a center of trade, shipbuilding, and whaling. In the 19th century, the city rapidly industrialized, attracting immigrants to the growing number of factory jobs. Manufacturing was the mainstay of the local economy until the 1970s. Industrial restructuring and suburbanization caused the loss of many jobs and affluent residents, leaving Bridgeport struggling with problems of poverty. In the 21st century, conversion of office and factory buildings to residential use and other redevelopment is attracting new residents.



the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Early history

The first documented English settlement within the city limits took place in 1644, centered at Black Rock Harbor and along North Avenue between Park and Briarwood Avenues. The place was called Pequonnock ('Cleared Land' in the Quripi language), after the name of the Native American people, a band of the Paugussett, who had historically occupied this area. One of their sacred sites was Golden Hill, site of powerful springs and planting fields, now blasted through for an expressway.[1] The Golden Hill Indians were granted a reservation here by the Colony of Connecticut in 1639 that survived until 1802 (it exists today in adjoining Trumbull). A village called Newfield began to coalesce around the corner of State and Water Streets in the 1760s.

The area officially became known as Stratfield in 1701 due to its location between the already existing towns of Stratford and Fairfield. During the American Revolution, Bridgeport and its harbor were a center of privateering. In 1800, Newfield village was incorporated as the Borough of Bridgeport (the first such incorporation in the state), and in 1821 the township of Bridgeport became independent of Stratford. Bridgeport was chartered as Connecticut's fifth city in 1836.

Bridgeport's early years were marked by residents' reliance on fishing and farming, not altogether different from the economy of the Native American Paugussett. They had cultivated corn, beans and squash, and fished and gathered shellfish from both the river and sound. The city's location on the sheltered Newfield Harbor fostered a boom in shipbuilding and whaling in the early-19th century, especially prior to the opening of a railroad from the city up the Housatonic Valley in 1840. A railroad connection to New York City and New Haven was added in 1848. The city rapidly industrialized in the mid-19th century, when it became a major center. It produced such goods as the famous Bridgeport milling machine, brass fittings, carriages, sewing machines, brassieres, saddles, and ammunition. Bridgeport annexed the West End and the village of Black Rock and its busy harbor in 1870.

Industrialization was underway by the mid-19th century. Famous factories included Wheeler & Wilson, which produced sewing machines and exported them throughout the world, and the Locomobile Company of America, builder of one of the premier automobiles in the early years of the century. In the summer of 1915, amid increased labor demand as men were drafted for World War I, workers in Bridgeport called a series of strikes demanding the eight-hour day. They were so successful that the strikes and the eight-hour day spread throughout the Northeast. By 1930, Bridgeport was a thriving industrial center with more than 500 factories. Since the late 19th century, its industrial jobs had attracted the most recent immigrants: Irish, Italians and Eastern Europeans. The build-up to World War II further helped its industries. Additionally, Columbia Records' primary pressing plant was located in Bridgeport. It manufactured the Columbia OKeh (after 1926), as well as their dime-store labels (Harmony, Velvet Tone, Diva and Clarion).

Modern history

Restructuring of heavy industry starting after the mid-20th century caused the loss of thousands of jobs and residents. Like other urban centers in Connecticut, Bridgeport suffered during the deindustrialization of the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. Continued development of new suburban housing attracted middle and upper-class residents, leaving the city with a higher proportion of poor. The city suffered from overall mismanagement, for which several city officials were convicted, contributing to the economic and social decline.

In September 1978, Bridgeport teachers went on a 19-day strike due to deadlocked contract negotiations. A court order, as well as a state law that made strikes by public workers illegal in Connecticut, resulted in 274 teachers being arrested and jailed.

Like other northeastern cities suffering from the effects of post-World War II industrial decline, Bridgeport made numerous efforts at revitalization. In one proposal Las Vegas developer Steve Wynn was to build a large casino, but that project failed to be implemented. In 1991, the city filed for bankruptcy protection but was declared solvent by a federal court. However, in the early 21st century, Bridgeport has taken steps toward redevelopment of its downtown and other neighborhoods. In 2004, artists' lofts were developed in the former Read's Department Store on Broad Street. Several other rental conversions have been completed, including the 117-unit Citytrust bank building on Main Street. The recession has halted, at least temporarily, two major mixed-use projects including a $1 billion waterfront development at Steel Point, but other redevelopment projects have proceeded, such as the condominium conversion project in Bijou Square. In 2009, the City Council approved a new master plan for development, designed both to promote redevelopment in selected areas and to protect existing residential neighborhoods. In 2010, the Bridgeport Housing Authority and a local health center announced plans to build a $20 million medical and housing complex at Albion Street, making use of federal stimulus funds and designed to replace some of the housing lost with the demolition of Father Panik Village.

Notable speeches

On March 10, 1860, Abraham Lincoln spoke in the city's Washington Hall, an auditorium at the old Bridgeport City Hall (now McLevy Hall), at the corner of State and Broad streets. The largest room in the city was packed, and a crowd formed outside as well. Lincoln received a standing ovation before taking the 9:07 p.m. train that night back to Manhattan. A plaque marks the site where Lincoln spoke; later that year, he was elected president.

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke three times at the Klein Auditorium during the 1960s. Additionally, President George W. Bush spoke before a small group of Connecticut business people and officials at the Playhouse on the Green in 2006. President Barack Obama also spoke at the Harbor Yard arena in 2010 to gain support for the campaign of Democratic Governor Dan Malloy.

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