Collections : [Bridgeport History Center, Bridgeport Public Library]

John Adam Hugo was a Bridgeport born composer who after showing great skill with music, studied at the Stuttgart Conservatory. Following his time at the Conservatory, he toured Europe as a musician before returning to the United States. He spent several years in Baltimore, where he founded the European Conservatory and served as the music director for the Women's College of Baltimore. He later returned to Bridgeport where he stayed until his death in 1945. Hugo wrote three operas, with The Temple Dancer performed by the Metropolitan Opera in 1919. His collection is the only known group of his compositions, and includes opus numbered works, operas, and unpublished works.

As a major repository for P.T. Barnum related material, the Bridgeport History Center has amassed a large collection of circus material. This has included amassing circus route books, which list the performance locations and show details for each show in a given year. These early route books provide useful information to early circus ventures in America, starting in the 1870s and going into the 1890s.

John O'Connell worked as an engineer at the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad Company. These select documents provide some insight into the everyday life and work such a job entailed.

he International Reading Association, today known as the International Literacy Association, is an international non-profit organization that focuses on reading instruction and accessibility across all languages and nationalities. The Fairfield County Council began in 1959. It currently exists as the Southern Fairfield Reading Association, part of the Connecticut Reading Association. The group helped to sponsor workshops for teachers to improve instruction, support initiatives for students, and fundraise.

The Riker family had considerable impact on Bridgeport in the early 20th century. Hired by the Locomobile Company of America, engineer Andrew L. Riker worked in Bridgeport for two decades His time as the chief of engineering and vice president of the Locomobile Company occurred at the same time that Bridgeport was producing seemingly everything, from heavy industrial products to small consumer goods. The papers of Andrew L. Riker and the Riker Family provide a look into how Riker himself functioned, how he worked, and what his private life was like. Materials also relate to his immediate and larger family, and help to offer a full picture of the family. Prominent within is material related to the early automobile industry, as well as family photographs and patents.

The records of the Bridgeport Scientific Society represent an overview of the activities of the first tenants of the Barnum Institute of Science and History, today housing the Barnum Museum. It contains administrative information in the form of society minutes, documentation of collection acquisitions, and extensive documentation of the lectures hosted by the group.

Lyman Thunfors was born in Muskegon, Michigan and was an industrial executive best known for his time as the Executive Vice President at Jenkins Brothers. The collection contains photographs of the company in the mid-20th century along with some documents.

Reverend Roger Wentworth Floyd (October 8, 1930-August 2, 2013) was a Methodist minister who served in New Haven, Waterbury, and in the Greater Bridgeport area during his lifetime. He was active in the city's political scene as well, and ran for mayor twice against John C. Mandanici – in 1977 and 1979. He also served as the chairman of the Congress Plaza Planning Council Inc., which was the first urban renewal project in the city that was developed with Bridgeport residents.

The Barnum Museum building has gone through various incarnations since it was first opened in 1893. In the 1950s and 1960s, the museum collections were managed by Elizabeth Seeley (a Barnum descendent). Her organizational files represent a window into the museum's inner workings during that time period, just as it was turning into a recognizable version of the contemporary Barnum Museum.

Rufus Cushman worked at City Savings Bank starting in 1949 and was heavily involved in various Bridgeport community groups including Community Chest, the Boys Club, and the Bridgeport Public Library board. This collection features a selection of correspondence, speeches, and citations from the community groups he worked with.