B R I D G E P O R T

Bridgeport, Connecticut’s largest city, is known as the city that Barnum built. Showman and Mayor P.T. Barnum turned this port city into a major manufacturing center during the early 19th century. Some of his achievements included bringing in Elias Howe and his Singer sewing machines, and building and donating The Barnum Museum to the city. He laid out parks and roads and even designed Mountain Grove Cemetery where he is buried. Bridgeport was also the home of the original Frisbee pie (whose plate is now better known than the pie it contained.)

Bridgeport (formerly known as the Village of Newfield) originated as a section from the settlement of Stratford, a large territory conquered and ceded from the Pequot Indians in 1637 during the Pequot War. Five townships ultimately broke away and evolved from that settlement of Stratford between the years of 1639 and 1789, one of them being the village of Newfield. In 1800, the general assembly of the State extended the territorial limits of the village of Newfield and bestowed upon it the title of "The Borough of Bridgeport". Interestingly enough, in 1821 the township of Stratford was politically divided and the inhabitants living in the western portion received authority to maintain a separate "town of Bridgeport" aka "East Bridgeport".

Due to the deep harbors of Bridgeport, a profitable coastal and West Indian trade route evolved and merchant trading and vending proliferated and prospered. In an effort to forestall property damage in the booming business areas, volunteer watches were formed to patrol the streets. These volunteers took turns patrolling the narrow streets where numerous shops flourished. The main concern then was to look out for fires, a constant threat to the congested businesses. Originally, the volunteer watch mainly concerned itself only with reporting fires. Later the duties included reporting "uspicious persons", lighting and extinguishing city lamps and to "sound the hour of night when on duty." 

Coveting the larger privileges of city government a few years prior to 1836, the borough and the town of Bridgeport held a meeting to consider the possibility of Bridgeport being incorporated into a city. A petition for the incorporation of Bridgeport as a city was presented to the General Assembly in May 1836. It was approved and Bridgeport became a city on October 3, 1836. Bridgeport then was a well-populated city of approximately 7,500 residents, which was in need of a well-defined and structured policing entity.

P .  T .  B A R N U M

The Barnum Festival, with its many separate events, is held annually culminating in these major festivities Champions on Parade, Grucci Fireworks Skyblast, and the Great Street Parade. The Remington Corporation, known for its electric razors, once supplied ammunition for the Russian Revolution and World War II. Because of its strategic importance, NIKE bases (dismantled in the early 90’s) were built in neighboring communities to protect the city. Over the years Bridgeport has transitioned from an industrial to a service base. Today the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company provides daily ferry service between "The Park City" and Port Jefferson, Long Island from their new terminal and docking facility. A major transportation hub is nearby as is Harbor Yard, the new home of the popular Bridgeport Bluefish Professional Baseball team now the most successful minor league team in the USA. Other Bridgeport attractions include the Beardsley Zoological Gardens, Captain’s Cove Seaport, The Discovery Museum, Housatonic Museum of Art, Klein Memorial Auditorium, Shoreline Star Greyhound Park and Entertainment Complex, Downtown Cabaret Theater, and Polka Dot Playhouse.

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