BRIDGEPORT, the leading manufacturing city of Connecti cut, United States, and one of the important industrial centres of the country, on Long Island sound, at the mouth of the Pequon nock river, about 6om. N.E. of New York city; a port of entry and the county seat of Fairfield county. It is served by the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad and by coasting steamers. A municipal airport is under construction. The area is 18.4 sq. miles. The population in 1920 was 143,555, of whom (32%) were foreign-born white, including large numbers from southern and eastern Europe; in 1930 it was 146,716.
The city has a delightful location. Beardsley park (I 5oac. ) contains beautiful rustic scenery; and Seaside park extends nearly 3m. along the sound. A city plan was prepared in 1916. There is a good natural harbour, formed by the estuary of the river and two inlets called Yellow Mill pond and Black Rock harbour. The commerce of the port in 1925 amounted to 1,016,881 tons, valued at $98,630,759. About 90% is incoming tonnage, of which considerably over half is coal, coke, and fuel oil, and most of the rest is pig-iron, scrap-iron, copper, sand, clay, lumber and other materials required by the manufacturing industries. The 329 factories within the city in 1925 had an aggregate output valued at 12% of the total for the State. Among the most important manufactures are firearms and am munition, sewing machines, corsets, gramophones, motor-vehicle bodies and parts, electrical machinery and apparatus, chain goods, plated ware, bronze, brass, iron, steel and numerous articles made of these and other metals. The assessed valuation of property in 1926 was $232,423,371.
The first settlement here was made in 1639. It was called Pequonnock until 1701, and then Stratfield. The borough of Bridgeport was incorporated in 1800; the town in 1821 ; the city in 1836. During the Revolutionary War it was a centre of privateering. P. T. Barnum, the showman, lived here of ter 1846, and did much for the improvement of the city. For many years it was the winter headquarters of Barnum and Bailey's circus and of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Elias Howe built a large sewing machine factory here in 1863. During the Civil War the city made trainloads of coats, fire-arms, and other supplies for the army, and in the succeeding decade it developed into an im portant manufacturing centre, with a population in 1880 of 27,643, which increased to 102,054 by 1910.
At the outbreak of the World War large orders were received from the Allies for firearms, ammunition and other articles. Within two years (1914-16) the population increased Congestion in dwellings, schools, streets and trolleys became serious and there were numerous strikes. Production included 2,000,000,00o cartridges, 1,218,979,300 rounds of ammunition, submarines, Browning guns, automatic rifles, anti-aircraft guns, projectiles, target shells, naval guns, and copper bullets. Af ter the Armistice the industries readjusted themselves to normal de mands; the excess supply of labour disappeared; and construction of houses and schools was able to overtake the increase of population. In 1927 the population was estimated at 170,000.