When the Bridgeport City Council met not too long ago to set strategic goals for the municipality for the current year, one of them focused on finding a way to preserve and promote the city’s history. And for those that don’t think there’s a whole lot of history, you may not be looking hard enough.

 

“Council felt, and the administration does as well, that we have to maintain some ties to our past and be able to appreciate where we are today and tomorrow by knowing where we came from,” said City Manager Kim Haws. “Little by little, you see our past fading whether it’s through a demolition or some document that’s destroyed. We realize this community, particularly our children and their children, need to be made aware of history and have a connection to the past.”

 

To that end, the city recently established a Historic Preservation Committee. City Clerk Andrea Kerr, who sits on the committee, said it includes several individuals with the city and those within the city who are avid history buffs.  Kerr is joined by Haws, Parks and Recreation Director Don Burton, Library Director Sharon Saye, Sarah Nora from the library, and several residents. Those from the community who sit on the committee include Richard “Dick” and Norma Duez, Bob and Ruth Allen and Richard Bailey.

 

Haws recently briefed Council on the status of the new committee and some of its goals. Although there are many areas the group will address, Haws said perhaps the most historic section of the city that will get attention is the Bridgeport Cemetery.

 

“There are some real issues with headstones,” said Haws. “We will be addressing that.”

 

Burton, whose P&R Department oversees the cemetery, said most of the really old headstones are in the old Baptist section of the cemetery. He said that section can be found just as you enter the cemetery and go to the right.

 

“That section, in particular, has some very prominent individuals buried there. There are Revolutionary War soldiers, Gov. Joseph Johnson and others. We also have a Pony Express rider here, but that’s in another section of the cemetery,” Burton said.

 

The problem with the headstones in question is that many are more than 200 years old. Because of the time, the erosion, the material used in the old headstones, many can no longer be deciphered.

 

“A lot of the headstones are old sandstone that has just weathered beyond the point that you can’t recognize the writing. You also have some old marble stones that have growth over them that make them difficult to read,” said Burton. “The plan is to remedy those issues.”

 

A plan actually began several years ago. In fact, you can see a few identification markers on some of the old headstones that identify who is buried at certain locations.

 

“With the headstones there has actually been some work done, but it hasn’t been continued. If you look on some of the stones you will see where information was extracted from the headstone and put on a plaque to let visitors know who is buried at that location,” said Haws. “It’s been a number of years since that’s happened and it’s going to begin again so you will know who is buried all of those locations.”

 

Haws said that another key part of the committee’s work will be to create a data base of historic photos and documents. He said it will likely be kept in a digital format that will be easy to access and easy to view.

 

“There are items that we’ve lost forever because we failed to digitize them in a format that would have been easy to store,” said Haws. “This group will try to gather as much information that is available through documents and photos as possible that will be available for public consumption. We think this is something that will really get the history bug going with a lot of people.”

 

As for where the database will eventually be stored and how the public will view it, Haws said that has yet to be determined. Right now, the group is in its infancy stages and working on the “inventory sort of items” as they begin to move forward.

 

“Bridgeport doesn’t have historic landmarks on every corner, but there are locations and properties that detail the history of our city that might need some special attention to maintain their integrity,” said Haws. “You have obvious ones like the Bowstring Bridgeport and the (Gov.) Johnson Home at the intersection of Philadelphia Avenue and Virginia, plus a number of other buildings that this group will focus on making the community aware that they are key to the city’s past.”

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows P&R Director Don Burton with one of the old sandstone grave headstones at Bridgeport Cemetery that has been weathered after decades. Bottom photo shows Burton with a headstone that has a plaque identifying who is buried at that location that was put in place several years ago.