A wonderful object was recently bought at an auction and donated by Ben Ortiz and Victor Torchia, Jr. to the Bridgeport History Center of the Bridgeport Public Library. The object is a wooden cane with a gold knob on top with the inscription “Presented to Capt. John McNeil By Friends and his Associates in the Grand Marine Display at Bridgeport, July 3, 1888.”
Who was this cane owned by? The top of the cane is inscribed with the words:
“Presented to Captain John McNeil by Friends and his Associates in the Grand Marine Display at Bridgeport, July 3, 1888.”
Who was Captain John McNeil?
Captain John McNeil served as the City of Bridgeport’s first Harbor Master in 1882. He championed the City’s development as an important harbor. McNeil was a skipper on the steamer Schuyler in 1866, after working on several other vessels.
This cane was presented to Captain John McNeil after he helped the City put on a huge “Marine Parade” on July 3, 1888. Captain McNeil had worked diligently on helping to deepen the City’s harbor, making sure that channels were deepened so that ships could safely enter the city’s inner passages.
In order to celebrate the newly expanded harbor, the Marine Parade involved many steam and sailing vessels that began to arrive before dawn from different ports along the sound. Boats carried crowds of happy people who came into the harbor to help celebrate the occasion.
The newspaper the next day said Captain John McNeil was Chairman of the Harbor Committee and that his work could not have been accomplished by any other man in the City.
