History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

During the year ending March 1, 1880, eight hun- dred and sixty-two arrests were made, one of which was for murder, two hundred and thirty were for drunkenness, and the remainder for a variety of minor offi.>nses. Of the persons arrested, two hundred and seventy-four were of American, and five hundred and eighty-eight of foreign, birth. Stolen property to the amount of three thousand five hundred didlars was recovered during the year. The police head- quarters have been for a number of years piust in the biusemeiit of the county court-house, hitherto a very damp and unhealthy locality, but alterations to the building are now in progress that will much improve its sanitary coiulition. The government of the police force is vested by the city charter in a non-partisan board of four members, with the mayor as presiding officer. Following is a list of the board !\s at present constituted : Hon. Dan- iel N.Morgan, President, cr-^y/icio ,• Charles K. .Vv- crill, term expires .\pril, 1881 ; Samuel C. Kingman, term expires April, 1881; Frank C. Bennett, term expires April, 1882; William B. Si)enccr, term ex- pires April, 1882. POPULATION. The late Deacon Isaac Sherman, writing in 18(>0, made the following estimate of the number of peoi)le residing at ditrcrent dates within the territor>' eni- bniced in the city limits of Bridgeport: (4/?DJ>Z.£^K PARK. iK£TCHKo ay H P ^HINf^enf . BlUDGEPORT. 1 1'7 George Wade, ap|Hiinte(l .luly 111, 1S49. Inhiiliitaiits. lXlXl!^////.!!^"!^/".!!!!!''!!L"..^!!./.!!!"^""^."!!!!^"... ■j:<i> K. 15. (inodsell, aiipninted Apvil '.', ix.'.:;. isio ■'■'■■''' isau S4I1 F. AV. Smith, Jr., a]ip(iinted May li;, IsiU. (■(•(irge F. Traeey, appciintnl April Hi, ISd'J. The first time tliat the cnisus of Bridgeport was .Tames E. Dunham, ajipointed Nov. V, 1X7:;. taken separately was in ixlii, liefore that time it .lulius W. Knowlton, ajipoiiitrd I »el. lo, 1X7'). having been ineluded with Stratford. Jeremiah W. Tiie mails were earrird hy stage-coacli entirely until Beardsley was enumerator that year, and his original :iliont 1S.'{S; after that date in part by steaiidioat until return is still jireserved. According to this there were |s4i), when the New York and New Haven Railroad il4 heads of families in thi' liorougii, and the total |iop- „as ( ipleted. The jiresent ]iosl-oHiec, No. '.','.) ISank ulation, ineluding a negro slave in the fandly of Street, e-xtemling through to State Street, was first Lieut. Salmon Hubliell, was .'i7:2. The i>opidation of oeeujiied Aug. 5, l.S()4. The letter-i-arrier system^ the adjoining towns at the sanu^ date was as follows: perhaps the greatest improvement since the ollit'e was Stratford (not ineluding tlie borough of Bridgeport I, instituted — went into etfeet Sept. lo, 1S7'.I. A full 2895; Fairfield, 41i'); Trundmll, 1241. In ]X2il. liistcry of the offiee, written by Mr. K. B. Laeey, from Bridgejiort had increased in si/c toal>out ]20ll, ami in nicm.iraiLda furnished by 1'. \V. Smith, lvsi|., will be IX.SlI to 2X(MI. In 1X4(1, Henry Iv I wards was eiinini'ra- tunnel in the " ^Innic-iiial liegisler" for 1X77. tor. and the number returned by him wa> 4o7o. In IS.idthe late William K. Bunmdl' t.iok the eensu^. an. I iMHi.io .schools. found 75r)S inhabitants, of whom 8^2 resided upon Before the vote of the town in lX7li ]dacing all the the east si<h' of the river and 2oO at N<irth Bridge- schools under the control of the Board of Education jiort. The nundicr (jf colorcil persons making their there were eleven separate school districts, a great honn- in liridgi'iiort at that time was 2Xi;, ;nid of for- i|,.;i| ,,|' information concerning which may be tound eigners 14'.t."., — viz., Iioiii in Ireland. 11112; in Eng- in the " Municipal Ivegister" lor 1X74, in the annual land, 188; in (iernnmy, bJX; IVimi other countrio, icports (d' the Board of Education siniee e.nisolidation, ()•'). and especially in a historical sket<di by Superinten- In 18(itl, < teorge W. l-cwis was cnunu-rator, and the dint II. M. Harrington, published with the report ]>opulation of the place w.is l:!.2'.HI. having almost ihit.'d Julv 12, 18X((. doubled during the decade preceding. In 1X7(1 the " Fuder the district system, prior to con,-olidation, census was taken under the supervision of the late the pulilic schools of Bridgeport wi'rc confessedly in- Philo F. Barnuni, and showed l'.l,X7(i inhabitants, not Icrior to the general standard of schools in towns of ineluding the ])ortion of territory annexed that year, corresponding po]iulatioii, especially to those where During the jiresent year (1880) the eensus has been consoliilatioii had lieen established. Tlu're was great taken umler the supervision of Sujiervisor W. E. Dis- irregularitv in attendanee, an ciitiie want of uni- brow, wdiose jurisdiction embraces Fairfield, Litch- fiirmitv in sehoid acconiniirdatioiis, in the course of field, and New Haven ("onuties. By dividing the studv. in the books, maps, and charts useil, in the territory into districts whose population does not e.\- (pialitications and comiicnsations of the teachers, in ceed 20O0, greater aeenraey tlnUL ever before has been the proficiency of the pupils, ami in the c.vpenditures attained. The present population of Bridgeport is of tin' respeetive districts. In a woril, all those evils found to be 2it,lo.'!, of whom 27,71-! reside within the existed whieh must necessarily result from so many eity limits and 144(t beyoml them. The numlier living disj.jiuted systems running at random."'' upon the west side <jf the river is 19,770, and in Ea.st The abolition of these districts and bringing the Bridgeport 9:i8:i. Careful investigation showed the scdiools into one harmonious system and under the number of insane to be 27, and of idiots 17. There executive control <pf a single head was certainly ime were also found lure Hi deaf ami 9 blind |iersuns ami uf ||ic most im|iortant events that I'Ver toidc place in 58 paupers. (lie lijst.iiv of Bridgep<jrt. The superiutemlent of I'osT-oKiiri:. schools and the members of the Board of Education Following is a list <d' the postnuistcrs in Bridgeport, : are entitled to great credit for the marked improve- with dates of a|ipointmi'nt, since the first establish- „,cnt in sidndarshi]! and in discipline already etfecte<l, nient of the ofhce : wdiich in the slnn-t space <if Ibiir years has place.l the Annjs B. Fairmau, appointeil .\pril 1, ixiil. public schools in Bri(lge]M,rt upon an cpial footing Charles Bostwiek, appointeil ,Ian. 1, 1X(I4. with the best in Conneetieut, if not in the country at Benjanun Bostwiek, appointed .luly 1, 18(_)(i. 'large. Still further ]n-ogress in the Inture is eon- Charles Bostwiek, ajipointed Oet. 1, 181)8. I fidcntly expected. It is to be hoped, however, that as Jesse Sterling, ai)pointed Sept. If), IXIO. ! vacancies occur in the Board oidy those who arc well Stephen Lounsbury, .li., appointed .May 8, 1829. ipialilicd to till them nniy be i inated, and that our Smith Tweedy, appointed .Ian. 12, ls:i7 Isaac Sherman, .Ir., app.iintc'd .\pril 12, 1X41. Philo F. Barnum, appointi'd Sept. 22, 1845. 1 eiidinf: ,iul.v ',i, im7 * lion. .1. ('. I.oomis, president of Hour.l of lOdiiiiition, I!i-|inrt for .vc;ir 128 • TIISTOIIV OF FAIRFIELD best citizens will not refuse to accept these lionorubk' thoiifrb onerous positions. During the past year an ap])ropriation has been j voted by the town and plans accepted for a new liiffb- school liuildiiifr, upon Coiijrress Street, Golden Hill, which, including the land, is expected to cost about seventy thousand dollars, and will be, when com- pleted, not only an ornament, but an institution of great value, to the city. The whole number of pupils enrolled in the public day schools at the i)resent time is about 4.")iJ0, with !»1 teachers, — viz., 3 males and 88 females. The amounts e.Npended for the maintenance of schools for the year ending July 13, 1880, were : For Milaiieti of Iwichers niul suporiiitendont ^M.705.'>6 " ropiiiiv D> builUingH 9,^03.11 " Jnnitors 2,CM.78 " fuel 1.H97.83 " liiiijccllnncotis itunis 2,701.:J4 Tolnl oxpcnso fur llio year S81,:«C.C2 The Board of Education at this time is constituted as follows: Julius S. Hanover, President; Frederick W.Zing.seni, Vice-President; Edward W. Marsh, Sec- retary; Augustus II. .Vbernethy, Edward V\'. Marsh, Thomas J. 8ynnott, Emory F. Strong, David (iinand, George N. Frem'b, Julius S. Hanover, Nathaniel Wheeler, Frederick W. Zingsem, James Staples, Peter W. Wren, George C. Waldo, Members of the Board ; H. ^I. Harrington, Superintendent of Schools. .SOCIETIES. In addition to the Masons and the Odd-Fellows, there are in Bridgeport more than fifty societies of various descriptions holding regular meetings, and some of them doing excellent work. Among them are some lifteen different temperance organizations, a Bible society, the Knight.s of Pythias and Knights of H(mor, a dramatic society, a medical a-ssociation, the St. George, Cale<loMiaii, Ennnett, and other clubs, the Fireman's Benevolent Association, the Ladies' Charitable Society, a Society for Prevention of Cru- elty to Animals, several military companies, and nu- merous shooting, singing, and gymnastic as.sociations ; for a nearly complete list of which reference should ' be nuule to tlia " City Directory" for the current year. While many of these fraternities are well worthy of extended notice, it is to be regretted tliat the limits of this article allow only brief mention of two or three.