Collections

In 1986, the City of Bridgeport celebrated 150 years of incorporation. This collection features the merchandise that was created by the committee to commemorate the event, along with some event ephemera including advertising supplements that were included in the New York Times and the Bridgeport Post.

Fifth year Yale University American Studies doctoral candidate Amanda Rivera conducts oral histories to facilitate her research on the bilingual education movement in Bridgeport as led by Puerto Ricans in the 1970s. Rivera interviews community members about this topic in both Bridgeport and New Haven from 2023-2024. Rivera's interviews are now part of the History Center holdings as an oral history collection.

This collection of Bridgeport Fire Department material is an artificial assemblage of ephemera related to Bridgeport fire departments. It contains unidentified photographs of firemen, several program books, and information about fire alarm boxes in the early 1950s.

Probate record books, 1840-1955; Probate files, 1790-1963, bulk 1833-1963.

Bridgeport has been the home of a number of theatres over the centuries. Being the backyard of theatre mogul Sylvester Z. Poli contributed heavily to that fact, as did the popularity of theatre in the late 19th and early 20th century, as well as Bridgeport's proximity to both New York City and New Haven. The Bridgeport Theatre Collection contains various programs, tickets, and photographs from the hey-day of many now-closed venues within the city.

A selection of interviews taken from the "Bridgeport Working: Voices from the Twentieth Century" labor history website with complete audio and transcripts divided by subject and chapter for easy access to specific topics. Of particular interest for the CSL BIPOC Subject Guide Project are: Frank Bridgeforth, Edna Smith, Emmett Johnson, and Richard Fewell.

Brigadier General James Hamilton's receipt for 208 rations of provisions received of Jonathan Clarke, Asst. Commissary General for the convention troops, for the use of Hamilton, commencing 1 March and ending 3 April. Dated Cambridge, New England 3 April 1778.

J. Homer and Minnie Bright, their son J. Calvin Bright, and his wife Harriet Bright, were American missionaries in China from 1911 to 1951, serving under the Church of the Brethren mission. The elder Brights served in Shao Yang and Ping Ting, Shansi province. J. Calvin and Harriet Bright served in Chengdu, Sichuan (Chengtu, Szechwan) province. This record group also contains material related to Daniel and Jane Dye, who taught at the West China Union University in Chengdu (Chengtu). J. Calvin and Harriet Bright were Church of the Brethren ministers in Indiana and Illinois after 1951.

The papers consist of writings, notes, and biographical material of Brigid Maire Clark.

Brinton Turkle was born 15 August 1915, in Alliance, Ohio, the son of Edgar Harold (a funeral director) and Ada (Cassaday) Turkle. He attended Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie-Mellon University, 1933-1936) and School of Boston Museum of Art (1938-1940).