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Presidential Candidate John F. Kennedy, Bridgeport Train Station Water Street 1960

Excitement!  President Obama is coming to town!

The question has arisen several times over the last few weeks…what presidents came to visit Bridgeport over the years?  We know that George Washington, our first president came here ins 1789. And Presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln came to Bridgeport in 1860 and had his first plate of fried oysters.

Before becoming President,  Theodore Roosevelt arrived at the train station where a huge  crowd came in attendance and a man brought a black bear, with a sign, “One that you didn’t get, Mr. President,”  referring to his love for the sport of hunting. 

And in 1962 President Kennedy spoke to 10,000 people at Bridgeport airport, where he was met by then Mayor Sam Tedesco and U.S. Senator Thomas J. Dodd.

Here is the Presidential  Visitor List that we have compiled:

18^th and 19^th Century

George Washington:              1789  (travelling on the Post Road)

Abraham Lincoln:                   March 10, 1860

 20^th Century

Theodore Roosevelt:     June 29, 1905; after becoming President, Dec. 14, 1919;  July 4, 1921

Mrs. Warren G. Harding                A  visit by the widow for the dedication of the building of Harding H.S.

Franklin D. Roosevelt:            Oct. 22, 1936; Nov. 5, 1944; also 1940; Sept. 4, 1932 as candidate. Eleonor Roosevelt came to Bridgeport several times and spoke at Klein Auditorium

 Harry S. Truman:                    1948; Oct. 19, 1952

Dwight D. Eisenhower:          Oct. 21, 1952 

 John F. Kennedy:                    1960 and 1962

Lyndon B. Johnson:                Oct. 1963 as V.P., 1 month before assassination

 Richard M. Nixon:                  1956; 1960; 1970 with wife Patricia

  Gerald R. Ford:                        unknown

  James Carter:                           multiple visits, dates (we are looking for dates)

  Ronald Reagan:                      Oct. 2, 1984, also in 1954 at G.E. plant*               (before he was President when he was a spokesperson for GE)

George H.W. Bush:                Sacred Heart University, Oct. 20, 1980

 William J. Clinton:                  Oct. 15, 1994; March 10, 1998*

 George W. Bush:                    April 9, 2002; April 5, 2006*

Photograph:  Courtesy of  Bridgeport History Center, Bridgeport Public Library, Alexander Feldman photographer

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In 1987, when I first started my job, as a native of Michigan, I did not know anything about Bridgeport,Connecticut other than the fact that P.T. Barnum was from Bridgeport.  I was introduced to Bob Pelton, and Bob quickly became my source for everything  I needed to know about the city.  He answered all my questions.

Bob Pelton knew not only about P.T. Barnum, he could wax nostalgic about every corner, every mayor, every politician, and virtually every person who crossed his path.  And anyone who crossed his path became a wiser and gentler person for having come nearer to his great wisdom.

Bob knew facts about every president, about circus history, and about politics.  He thrived on what we all took for granted, and when we forgot a fact, he helped us remember it.

Bob Pelton kept the Barnum Museum alive for 23 years.  He worked for the City of Bridgeport for more than 40 years and grew up on Redding Place in the City’s Brooklawn area

Bob Pelton continued to be a great source of information for the Bridgeport History Center  even after he moved to Florida. A regular phone call away when I needed a fact verified, he never failed to graciously help me.

Bob Pelton died October 13, 2010.  He is and will be greatly missed.  I still have a lot of Bridgeport questions that I never got to ask him!

Mary K. Witkowski, Bridgeport City Historian

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Read's Department Store Souvenir plate. Gift of Robert and Sally Factor

See www.bridgeportpubliclibrary.org for further information as the year continues.

From the 1936 Bridgeport Municipal Register:

“On November 20, 1935 the library opened to the public a room dedicated to the memory of the late Henry A. Bishop who was the president of the Board of Directors of the library nine years.  This room contains historical materials such as books, pamphlets, documents and maps pertaining to Bridgeport and Fairfield County,and, opening as it did just before the celebration of Bridgeport’s hundreth anniversary as a city, it has been one of the busiest places in the library.  It is hoped that the value of the material in the room will be increased by gifts from the old Bridgeport families.”

NOTE:  The History Center, formerly called the Bishop Room, is celebrating it s 75th Anniversary in November of this Year!  We are happy to continue serving the citizens of Bridgeport.  We are also eager go answer questions and add more materials to the collection for the coming generations!

Contact us at (203) 576-7417