In 1801, the turnpike laid out through Newtown diverted much of the inland trade which formerly went to Derby. The second quarter of the 19th century saw the beginning of a rapid industrial development, and the Housatonic Railroad was chartered in 1836. The city of Bridgeport was incorporated the same year, and in 1930 had a population of 146,716. As the largest producer of munitions during World War I, Bridgeport came to be known as the "Essen of America."

Ash Creek, where we cross the line from Fairfield, was the route used by British boats in the raid which captured General Silliman. The attractive Black Rock Drive follows the shore to Black Rock Harbor, an important shipbuilding center during the 18th century; the drive is maintained by the city, but no parking is allowed. There was a small fort on Grover's Hill, which kept its single gun busy during the second Fairfield raid. It was from the port of Black Rock that Capt. David Hawley organized a daring counter raid on Long Island, to secure a prisoner of equal rank to exchange for Gen. Silliman.

Passing through the city on State St., the old City Hall built in 1855 has a tablet commemorating Abraham Lincoln's speech here on March 10, 1860. The main Public Library stands on the south side of State St. The Golden Hills Indian Reservation, which once occupied 80 acres on the high ground west of Main Street was purchased in 1763 from the few remaining Pequonnocks for 30 bushels of corn and a few blankets. The reservation was transferred to Nichols, now in the town of Trumbull where an acre still remained in the 1930's. The last surviving indians were Chieftess Rising Star and her father George Sherman.

The old landmarks in Bridgeport lie along the original King's Highway, represented by North Avenue and Boston Avenue. A tablet reminds us that the first post rider made a trip from New York to Boston in January, 1673. At North Ave., we find the Nichols Tavern a salt-box built in 1726, with a Franklin milestone nearby. Clinton Park was used as a military training ground before 1694. North of this is the old Stratfield Cemetery with a tablet giving the names of Revolutionary soldiers. The Brothwell Beach House farther east, at the corner of North and Park Aves., has kept its original lines. Just east of the jail is a house, with the original shingles removed. supposed to have been built in the 18th century by Capt. Abijah Sterling. East of the river, on Old Mill Green, stands the Pixlee House which dates from 1700 but has been modernized by a coat of stucco. Washington is said to have stopped here, as well as at the Nichols Tavern. Opposite the old Green, is a large elm, sometimes known as the Washington Elm, probably between 250 and 300 years old. Another noble tree, the Johnson Oak, on Logan St. in East Bridgeport, just south of Stratford Ave., has a girth of 21 feet and is one of the largest trees in Connecticut.

P. T. Barnum, the great showman, made Bridgeport his home, and was closely connected with the life of the city until his death in 1891. Here many years were the winter quarters for his circus, visible from passing railway trains. Sometimes an elephant would be plowing the fields, in full view of travelers. The last of Barnum's houses in the late Victorian style, faces Seaside Park, which he was instrumental in founding. There is also a statue of Barnum overlooking the Sound, near the seawall of the Park. On the third floor at 804 Main St. is a small Museum of articles having to do with Barnum's life, now in charge of the Board of Education. The dwarf, Charles S. Stratton, whom he exhibited all over this country and Europe as General Tom Thumb, was born in 1838 and lived in the house at the corner of North Ave. and Main St. Tom Thumb was 28 inches high and weighed less than 16 pounds, but achieved world-wide celebrity, and a 40-foot shaft in the Mountain Grove Cemetery, surmounted by a life-sized statue of himself.

Bridgeport is well supplied with parks. and is sometimes called "Park City." Seaside Park already mentioned, reached by Park Ave. entered through the Perry Memorial Arch, contains about 210 acres. A boulevard extends for 2-1/2 miles along the seawall, and there are facilities for bathing and recreation. Opposite Black Rock Drive, at the south end of Fayerweather Island, is the old white lighthouse, constructed in 1809 and rebuilt in 1823; the Government recently deeded this property to the city for park purposes. To the southeast, on the extension of Seaview Ave., is Pleasure Beach, owned by the city and leased as an amusement park. To the northeast, by way of Noble Ave., is Beardsley Park of 234 acres, with woodland drives and paths, a large lake, a zoo, an 18-hole golf course, a reproduction of the Anne Hathaway cottage, and a Shakespeare garden.

Starting at the north end of this park is the Pomperaug Trail to the Housatonic River, one of the blue-marked trails of the Connecticut Forest and Park Assn.

The city has been closely identified with the Sewing Machine industry. Elias Howe, who secured the basic patents in 1845 and later established his own factory here, has a statue in Seaside Park. The Wheeler and Wilson Co. moved from Watertown in 1856; Nathaniel Wheeler is honored by a Gutzon Borglum fountain at the intersection of Fairfield and Park Aves. The present Singer Manufacturing Co. which bought out Wheeler and Wilson in 1907 and produces 2,000,000 machines a year, goes back to Isaac M. Singer, who patented his invention in 1851.