Long Island Sound · CT
Bridgeport
Connecticut's biggest city, once P.T. Barnum's town.
- Population
- 148,654 (2020 census)
- City charter
- 1836
- Famous mayor
- P.T. Barnum
Then
- 1644
The first documented European settlement grows up around Black Rock Harbor.
- 1836
Bridgeport is chartered as a city.
- 1842
P.T. Barnum meets local boy Charles Stratton, who becomes General Tom Thumb. Barnum later winters his circus here and serves as mayor.
- 1900s
Factories make sewing machines and Remington arms; the Frisbie Pie Company's tins inspire a toy.
Now
Bridgeport has been reviving its downtown since 2015. A ferry Barnum helped start still crosses the Sound to Port Jefferson.
2 tide stations around Bridgeport
- Bridgeportin town
- Black Rock Harbor2.0 mi