Our Bridgeport Public Library History Center is taking Bridgeport history on an imaginary road trip! We’ve been collecting memorabilia and historic materials for 75 years…the city is now 175 years old. We want to Celebrate!
Heroes and Villains
Dutch Schultz
The gangster Arthur Flagenheimer, more commonly known as “Dutch Schultz,” came to Bridgeport April 30, 1935. Schultz and his bodyguard, Lulu Rosenkrantz, occupied the fourth floor suite at the Stratfield
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Bridgeport at War
General William Henry Noble
General William Henry Noble by Eric D. Lehman Born in 1813, William Henry graduated from Yale University with a law degree at age twenty-three. After returning to his home town
..continue readingWorking Bridgeport
The Locomobile Company of America
In 1899 the Locomobile began as a steam-powered car. With inventor and electric car manufacturer Andrew Riker’s development of a new gasoline-powered engine for the company, Locomobile was soon one
Continue Reading..Maritime
Katherine Moore
1812-1899 In 1817, Captain Stephen Moore was injured while unloading goods from a ship. Stephen then applied for a job through the United States Lighthouse service as a lighthouse keeper. He
..continue readingWomen
Elizabeth (Isabel) Medina
Bridgeport’s Hispanic Community: Rediscovering Elizabeth Medina Hispanic Activist and Reporter. During the late 40′s and early 50′s, Bridgeport was an important nucleus for the migration of Puerto Ricans and many Cubans. They left their Caribbean homeland in
..continue readingAfrican American Heritage
Black Bridgeporters
by Michelle Black Smith In 1977, a dedicated group of African American teachers decided to record the history of Black Bridgeporters in the residents’ own words. The Afro-American Education Association
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The Ghost of Pembroke Street
One hundred and forty-nine years old and Orator Jim O’Rourke still kneels on deck in his turreted Pembroke Street home behind windows dark muttering seven syllable adjectives over his Bridgeport
..continue readingArchitecture
Bridgeport Post Office Mural
Photograph: History of Mail Transportation, United States Post Office, Bridgeport. Mural Painted by Robert Lamdin According to art historian Patricia Raynor, “the United States-on post office walls large and
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