USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Bridgeport > The story of Bridgeport > Part 14
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27
Some 80,000 letters leave Bridgeport every day, not to speak of 23,000 periodicals, circulars, etc., and 7200 parcels. In return, Bridgeport receives 104,150 letters every day, 54,650 periodicals, circulars, etc. and 4300 parcels.
The letter carrier system went into effect Sep- tember 15, 1879 and the parcel post, 1913.
Total postal receipts for the year ending December 31, 1935 were $1,031,699.63. Total postal savings on deposit, Bridgeport post office as of April 1, 1936 were $1,553,956, the highest Bridgeport has ever known.
Those who love statistics, will be interested in knowing that there are 27 other Bridgeports in the United States besides our own, although this city is known to postal authorities as the "First Bridgeport in the Land."
Postmasters to date, have been as follows: Amos B. Fairman, appointed April 1, 1801; Charles Bostwick, January 1, 1804; Benjamin Bostwick, July 1, 1806; Charles Bostwick, October 1, 1808; Jesse Sterling, September 15, 1810; Stephen Lounsbury, Jr., May 8, 1829; Smith Tweedy, January 12, 1837; Isaac Sherman, Jr., April 12, 1841; Philc F. Barnum, Sep- tember 22, 1845; George Wade, July 16, 1849; Epaphras B. Goodsell, April 9, 1853; Friend W. Smith, Jr., May 16, 1861; George F. Tracey, April 16, 1869; James E. Dunham, November 9, 1872; Julius W. Knowlton, October 15, 1875; Edwin F. Meeker, 1886; J. W. Knowlton, 1889; Aurelius Steward, 1893; William H. Marigold, 1899; Charles F. Greene, 1915; Arthur F. Connor, 1924; William T. Meyer, 1928. Earle C. Martin, the present post- master was appointed May 17, 1932.
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BLIZZARD OF 1888
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
S EVEN trains snowbound-1000 passengers de- layed -- roofs blown off-giant trees destroyed- teams abandoned-telegraph wires down-lights out -- men and women blown from the sidewalks-and snow drifts twelve feet high! Such was the blizzard of 1888, the worst through which the city ever lived.
"The great storm of yesterday and last night was admittedly the fiercest and most merciless experienced in this city for nearly a quarter of a century", recorded the "Morning News" under date of March 13, 1888.
"Contrary to the prognostications of the signal service, the blizzard began about 12:30 yesterday morning and for each successive hour continued to in- crease in volume and ferocity. At 6 o'clock yester- day morning the snow was badly drifted and in some places was from three to four feet deep. At noon the storm had apparently received reinforcements, for it howled, bellowed and tumbled through the streets with irresistible fury. At 2 o'clock yesterday after- noon the tremendous snowfall threatened to obliter- ate the city and made locomotion well nigh impos- sible.
"At 6 o'clock last evening the storm showed no sign of cessation, but on the contrary appeared to be on the increase. The thermometer continued to fall and at that hour was only 12 degrees above zero. By this time the snow had formed huge drifts, some of them a mile in length and from 10 to 12 feet deep. The street railways endeavored to run their big plows in the morning but were obliged, even with 16 horses each, to abandon them in the impassable drifts. Cars were also abandoned in the streets and the passengers were obliged to save themselves as best they could.
"Trouble began for the Housatonic and Consoli- dated railroads at an early hour in the morning. The train starting from this city at 5:41 A.M., proceeded as far as Barnum's Winter Quarters where it got stuck in a drift. The Bridgeport special which fol- lowed, got as far as the freight yard, where it too, was obliged to pull up. Several attempts were made to get these and other trains through but without success. A shovel brigade was set to work to clear the tracks, but as fast as they threw the snow away it drifted back again.
"Five or six other trains from New Haven and points up the Housatonic managed to reach this city but were unable to proceed further. The depot was crowded with passengers, some of whom smiled and joked and seemed to enjoy the situation, while others
"DRIFTS TWELVE FEET HIGH!"
Those who doubt old timers' tales of the ferocity of the Blizzard of 1888, need only contemplate the above snow tunnel on one of Bridgeport's main thoroughfares, to be thoroughly convinced.
displayed contracted brows and gave utterance to muttered imprecations. . !
"No trains arrived from New York yesterday. About noon it was impossible to get trains up or down, and all attempts at moving them were for the time abandoned. At five o'clock last evening a train was standing on the railroad bridge with one directly in front and another behind. The wind blew so furi- ously that fears were felt that the cars would be blown into the river. Many of the passengers deserted
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the cars and in the face of the blinding storm made their way to the depot to await developments. Some subsequently engaged quarters at the Atlantic, Wil- son and other hotels.
"Others of the passengers refused to leave the cars and demanded the railroad people should furnish them with food. All the restaurants in this city did a big business and some of them sent out couriers to wait on the passengers who still stuck to their respec- tive trains."
NOBODY WORKED
The blizzard caused the cessation of practically all business in the city. Of the 1100 employees at the Warner corset factory, only 75 reported for duty. To add to the distress, the supply of coal gave out at nine in the morning and the works were shut down for the day. Many other factories closed because the workers couldn't get out of their homes.
The storm wreaked its havoc in the business section with no mean hand. Chimneys were ripped from the roofs. A large tree at the corner of Main and Kiefer Streets was blown down. Two other trees in the neighborhood were destroyed. A portion of the brick wall of the Coulter and Mackenzie machine shop was blown in about noon. The roof on the tin shop on the north side of the lower bridge was blown off and when last seen was hanging on the spile driver near the boat house just opposite. A section of one of the towers on the First Methodist Church on Fairfield Avenue fell with a tremendous crash.
The gates at the depot crossing were smashed to fragments by the wind; the gates at the Main Street crossing near Railroad Avenue were also wrecked. Bank Street was in a very bad condition near the courthouse (now the city hall) and was "impassable to man or beast", the snow being six feet high in drifts.
Several vessels dragged anchor in the harbor where a heavy sea raged. Steamers at the docks blew their whistles at regular intervals during the day and night to warn all craft that might be forced to seek shelter, of their location and position.
At 5 :30 o'clock a middle aged man fell exhausted on Wall Street and was taken to his home "by one of Raymond's teams." The police officers went on duty
at 7 in the evening, patroling the business section of the city and Park Avenue. The tramps' lodging house, the "Full Moon Hotel" at police headquarters boasted 20 occupants. The newspaper story con- tinues:
"A mail carrier on his route became exhausted and fell in a drift in front of Shepard's grocery store on Main Street near Bull's Head. A middle-aged woman fell in front of Dorus' meat market in a drift but was seen in time by a passer-by and carried into the store. A young woman named Mamie Sheehan fell ex- hausted in front of D. M. Read Company's store. A gentleman who chanced to come out of the place, saw her and brought her inside. She was in a half frozen condition and five minutes longer in the position she was found would have ended her life. She was subse- quently sent to her home on Main Street in a team furnished by the Company.
LOST HIS "TILE"
"A man named Fox, residing in Curtis Lane, East Bridgeport, has a sick child. He came over here to get some medicine for the little one and made three unsuccessful attempts to return. In the last attempt he says he was well nigh suffocated. Finding it im- possible to get home on foot he offered $10 to any cab driver who would take him home. The offer was not accepted, however. In the meantime his hat blew away and he gave a man $2 to go in search of the missing tile. (editor's note: slang for a stiff hat) It was finally recovered.
"A grocer's wagon attempted to cross the lower bridge early in the day. When about half-way across the team was capsized and but for the fence would have gone overboard. A large plate glass window in the Curtis building on Main Street was blown in by the wind last evening and completely wrecked. Many people passing along Main Street yesterday afternoon lost their footing and were actu- ally blown into the street. .
"The scene throughout Bridgeport at 10 o'clock last night was one of the dreariest imaginable. Dark- ness reigned supreme. Many of the street lamps had been extinguished by the wind and snow and the electric lights were out of working order altogether."
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THE GAY NINETIES
CHAPTER NINETEEN
P URPLE sofas and plum duff puddings, wasp waists and waxed whiskers, bicycles and button shoes, cotton stockings and covered ankles, hansom cabs and heliotrope plush albums-thus Bridgeport in the "Gay Nineties!"
This was the age of innocence and yet of sophisti-
Men treated women with extreme politeness, superfluous gestures and flowery speech but spent much of their time at the "lodge" or at the crossroads talking politics.
Women embroidered, gossiped. entertained and fainted. The genteel woman fainted frequently for
LOTRING
BRIDGEPORT IN THE GAY NINETIES
The second busiest corner in Bridgeport, Main and State Streets, is pictured in 1891 in the above photo. On the east side of Main Street, looking north, note the old carbon arc street lamp, one of the first of its kind in the city. It had to be lowered daily for the replacement of carbons. Traffic congestion in those days was caused mostly by horse cars, grocery wagons and "Arabian steeds" parked at hitching posts.
cation, of exaggeration, of tawdriness and gaudiness. Yet it was withal a live age, a tumultous, riotous decade filled with balls and suppers, dances and teas, foolish spenders and fops.
it was not only fashionable, it was a mark of refine- ment. Considering the clothes she wore, it is a wonder Milady was able to remain conscious at all.
Behind her she dragged a huge bustle, supported
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with bone, stiff cambric or even newspapers. (Only the bourgeois used papers, but there were some who would stuff their bustles with nothing less than the New York Times!) Yards of material looped about the skirt which was decorated with rosebuds and dozens of bows. About the waist was a girdle from which hung two or three bags, some metal junk and a fan. A tight bodice with high neck was accentuated by enormous puffed sleeves, while atop of a high head dress perched a hat decked out with ribbons, birds, red cherries or ostrich plumes, one or all, de- pending on the lady's station and pocketbook. Veil, lace gloves, button boots and parasol completed the outfit.
Under all this were two to four petticoats, heavy underwear and a corset harness which made every breath a misery but which was absolutely necessary to maintain the hour glass figure then in vogue.
Thus garbed, Milady tripped down Main Street with her mustachioed husband, resplendent in his tight striped trousers, short light overcoat, derby hat, spats and razor pointed patent leathers.
Playing cribbage or whist, holding salons and din- ing out were pastimes of the age. A rare treat was to go to New York, then the mecca of the nouveaux riche and there enjoy a supper of from six to twelve courses under the tender care of "Oscar" of the Waldorf.
If Milady went to a ball or fashionable theater, then she must change to a low necked gown and don all the jewelry she owned. Diamond tiaras were popular as were jeweled "dog collars", heavy earrings, and "stomachers", not to mention the fancy beetles, butterflies, and sunbursts for decorating the ample bosoms typical of the times.
THE "WORKING GIRL"
So much for the upper strata of society. The "working girl" was just coming into her own in Bridgeport. Already she had made a place for her- self in the telephone office and as a salesgirl in the stores. When the typewriter was introduced she was found quite invaluable in the office. Her salary in this field ranged from $10 to $30 a month.
Out of town girls experienced some difficulty in finding homes in Bridgeport for there were many who did not care to board a girl who "worked for a living." Many of the girls found it better to take
their lunches to work for the men stared at them in restaurants.
The working girl had her fun too-hacking to Seaside Park, playing croquet, or reading "Desperate Desmond and Lady Millicent." If the night were stormy, she could always sit before the great fireplace with its marble mantelpiece and framed "God Bless Our Home" and embroider tidies; or perhaps her "gentleman friend" would take her to the the ay ter."
Plays at the time were both dramatic and drastic. Witness the following advertised for April 2, 1895 at the "Auditorium" in Bridgeport :
"Tonight !! 'The Danger Signal!' ... the great railroad play ... See the life-like railroad scenes, the genuine full sized monster the great rotary snow plow . .. the full sized locomotive, tender and three coaches flying across the stage at the rate of 50 miles an hour." This followed, if you please, "On the Bowery" which brought Steve Brodie to Bridge- port.
Then of course there were always the bicycle picnic parties, for this city had its wheel club as early as 1878, called first the Pequonnock Wheel Club and later, the Bridgeport Wheel Club.
FIRST AUTOMOBILES
At the turn of the century, the automobile came to town. Dr. Dow R. Beebe, Sr. of 93 Wood Avenue, created no end of commotion when he drove down Main Street in 1902 in his new locomobile steam car.
The car was operated under steam power gener- ated in a boiler located under the driver's seat, a gaso- line burner providing the necessary furnace power. It was not an uncommon sight in those days to see an automobile halt at a horse trough in order to replenish its boiler. If by any chance the "furnace" went out, the operator of the car was more than often unable to get it going again, especially if there were a wind blowing.
Because of the many clashes between teamsters and steam cars and the complaints from owners of fright- ened horses, the state finally decided that some sort of regulation was necessary for the new vehicles. Accordingly, orders were enacted whereby motorists were required to stop their machines when passing horses if the latter became restless. Also motorists were to get licenses. Dr. Beebe was the second in Connecticut to obtain a license, number "C-2", the
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plate being made by the local blacksmith out of leather. Metal figures and letters were attached to the strip.
Motoring in those days was more of a trial than a joy. Not only did the car prove obstinate and balky, it continually lost parts and owners often rigged up aprons beneath the car to catch pieces as they were jolted off. Driving was also a dirty job, especially along the dusty roads in summer, and goggles, veils and dusters were the order of the day.
One of the first motor driven vehicles to run in the
-
STREAMLINED MODEL 1902
A pioneer motorist was Dr. Dow R. Beebe, Sr., 93 Wood Avenue, shown above at the wheel of his snappy Locomobile Steam Car at the turn of the century. With him was the Rev. Thomas Miller. (Photo, courtesy of Dr. Dow R. Beebe.)
streets of Bridgeport was made by Henry A. House of 105 Wood Avenue, before the appearance of the steam cars above described. 'The machine was operated by a patent fuel called "kufu", a mixture of grease and kerosene.
"MOUNTED POLICE"
The turn of the century was memorable for more reasons than one. In the year 1900 Bridgeport's famous "mounted police" were inaugurated, mounted not on Arabian steeds, but on bicycles!
As far back as 1896 the formation of such a corps
had been discussed, Superintendent Eugene Birming- ham suggesting "the detailing of an officer at Beards- ley Park during the months of June, July and August, and another at Seaside Park, to be mounted upon a bicycle", several others to be added later.
With bursting buttons and fast pedaling feet, the first bicycle corps went on duty and a new era in police circles commenced.
A good many years of experimentation and de- velopment preceded this culmination of a police- man's dream. In the beginning the community had no policemen; the elders of the church were the disciplinarians.
After the village became a borough in 1800 and shops be- gan to crowd each other on the narrow streets, the constant menace of fire resulted in the formation of a "public watch", Bridgeport's first police force. The watch was composed wholly of volunteers who took turns patroling the streets on the look out for fires.
When the borough became a city, a by-law was approved "relative to a city watch". This was on January 7, 1837. It was not until November 25, 1844 that any mention of pay was made, but on that date the city fathers authorized the watch "at the expense of the city".
In the beginning the city watch concerned itself only with reporting fires; later it also re- ported "suspicious persons"; still later, the members of the city watch were ordered to light and extinguish the city lamps and to "sound the hour of night when on duty." All lights were to be put out by 11 p.m.
Meanwhile the "police department" was progress- ing in another direction for under date of October 17, 1837, the Court of Common Council appointed 25 special constables "to preserve the peace". They had the power to make arrests but received no com- pensation except the "lawful fees taxed by the court." The constables corresponded more to the future police than did the city watch.
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By 1848 the policemen had a "station" of their own in the cellar of a brick building on the north corner of Bank and Water Streets. The police head- quarters were later established in the basement of the city hall building.
NEW CAPS AND BELTS
The officers now petitioned for uniforms but were advised that "in view of the prostration of business, heavy taxation and other embarrassments" only caps and belts could be provided and $120 was appropri- ated for that purpose. To make matters worse, these articles belonged to the city and were to be left with the chief of police. However, to make up for this, new stars and shields were ordered all around.
The city court, as such, was created by the legis- lative act of 1868. Before this, in 1836 when Bridge- port became a city, the mayor was judge of the court and the two aldermen first chosen were assistant judges. Later the same year, by an amendment to the new charter, it was provided that the common coun- cil should choose a recorder who would be judge instead of the maycr. The new city court, however, created by the act of 1868, functioned under a judge and deputy judge.
The following year the police department was re- organized and on April 15, 1869 E. E. Hubbell, George E. Wheaton, John Knowles and H. R. Parrott were elected as the first police commissioners. April 26th, the council adopted an ordinance relative to the police force, under which the force was to con- sist of a chief of police, a captain, two sergeants, and not less than ten nor more than twenty men. There was also to be appointed a special police force of not less than ten nor more than thirty policemen. The salary of the chief was fixed at $100 per month; cap- tain, $80; sergeants $75, each regular, $75; and each special, $2.50 per day while doing actual service.
In those days, drunks were a greater source of con- cern to the police force than burglars or murderers, a report in 1872 showing that of 1162 arrests during the year, 486 were for drunkenness.
Sick pensions for policemen were suggested in 1875; an "ambulance", known today as a patrol wagon or just as "the wagon" was urged in 1882; and "a well stocked gallery of photographs of thieves, burglars, pickpockets and confidence men" was recommended by the chief in 1885.
The office of police chief was abolished in 1895 and
thereby hangs a tale. Political unrest culminated in a veritable upheaval in 1895 and the incumbent police chief, John Rylands, was slated to go. But he wouldn't leave, and because the police board at the time was made up of eight men who were evenly divided for and against Rylands, it was impossible to get a majority one way or the other.
The political heads then in power found a solution for the problem by prevailing upon the state legisla- ture to abolish the office of chief of police, thereby abolishing also, Rylands. As soon as he was safely out of the way, the office of superintendent of police was inaugurated and Eugene Birmingham was in- stalled in office, April 23, 1895.
In 1900, the police force consisted of a superin- tendent, a detective sergeant, a captain, a lieutenant, three sergeants, patrol driver, matron and 46 patrol- men. Headquarters were in the basement of the city hall where they remained until the construction of the $125,000 building on Fairfield Avenue in the year 1900.
The police bicycle corps of 1900 gave way to the motorcycle squad; this in turn gave way to the auto- mobile patrol.
Today, the Bridgeport police department includes a total of 248 employes including one superin- tendent, six captains, 16 lieutenants, 25 sergeants, 36 detective sergeants, six doormen and 158 patrolmen.
There are 16 automobiles in the department, 12 of the cars being equipped with radio. The radio, the first to be used in a municipal police department in New England, was inaugurated June 9, 1934 at a cost of $4000. The radio service covers a radius of ten miles and at the present time is furnishing Fairfield, Stratford and Westport with police service.
The detective bureau is under the command of Acting Captain James H. Bray. Captain Regan re- tired as of April 1, 1936 and no successor has as yet been appointed, awaiting action of the civil service commission.
The bureau of criminal identification is under the command of Captain John A. Lyddy, assisted by Lieutenant George A. Haux, Sergeant Daniel T. McPadden and Patrolman Roderick Ludwig.
Charles A. Wheeler is superintendent of police, having been appointed December 17, 1927. Super- intendent Wheeler was first appointed a patrolman May 15, 1901, being elevated to the rank of captain 16 years later.
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BUCKET BRIGADES
The "leathern bucket" brigade inaugurated the system of fire protection which has grown into the large and efficient service which now guards the city of Bridgeport against conflagrations.
First mention of a fire engine for the little com- munity on the banks of the Pequonnock River, appears in the records of 1796. The following year, the first fire company was instituted and by 1798 the General Court at Hartford had empowered the vil- lagers to have their own fire engine and company.
The hand bucket brigade assisted the fire company
"ROOMS $3 AND UP."
Before the turn of the century, before a metropolitan hotel was even visualized, Main Street near Chapel Street looked like this. In 1908, the above three frame houses (one slightly damaged) were torn down and the Stratfield hotel erected. (Photo, courtesy of Dr. Dow R. Beebe, Sr.)
for many years. Every citizen was required to have one or more leather fire buckets and was expected to turn out at all fires. The citizens formed a line from the well or cistern or brook and passed water up to the engine which was filled. The water was then pumped on the fire through a long nozzle.
The first serious fire in the community was recorded in the "Republican Farmer" on February 9, 1815 and occurred in a new block of buildings in the borough, the newspaper article stating:
"The cause of the fire it is said was the putting of ashes into a wooden dish, the preceding evening and leaving them in the shop of Messrs. Kirtland and Wordin, merchant tailors, who were the principal sufferers."
Engine No. 2 was purchased in January 1819. By 1834 a third fire company had been chartered. Four years later a lot between the South Congregational Church and the Baptist Church was purchased for an engine house for companies No. 2 and No. 3. Previous to this time the engines had been kept in a small shed on the east side of Water Street below State Street. Engine No. 1, meanwhile had been "deposited for safe keep- in Edwin Porter's barn."
When Bridgeport be- came a city, the fire depart- ment was whipped into shape and by-laws were passed for its regulation. Some of the very first, with their quaint rulings, were discussed in the chapter headed "At the 'Sign of the White Wand'."
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