Bridgeport Downtown, Bridgeport

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AL-196. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Bridgeport's history and small remnants of its built environment are representative oflate-nineteenth century speculative "boom towns" that spread through the South and other areas of the United States. The downtown's combination of decaying late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century buildings are typical of southern towns that grew up along river ports and rail hubs and then suffered the industrial and economic restructuring of the late century. /

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AL-196. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

LeeAnn Bishop Lands BRIDGEPORT DOWNTOWN HAER No. AL-196 (Page 2) History Settled in in the Appalachian foothills of northeastern Alabama, the town of Bridgeport grew through the nineteenth century as a result of its river port and rails. Its Tennessee river landing drew early interest, and by mid-century Bridgeport enjoyed access to the North Carolina & St. Louis Railway and Louisville & Nashville Railway. Transportation routes made the area attractive to Union forces during the Civil War, who used the town as a supply base during the battles of Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge. But it was in the late-nineteenth century that Bridgeport flourished, if only temporarily.

The speculative climate of the late-nineteenth century encouraged the growth of "boom towns" throughout Alabama. Various industrial expositions, as well as promoters like Atlanta Constitution's Henry Grady, helped feed the South's frenzy around commerce and industry, and investors and promoters acted quickly to exploit the South's natural resources. In Alabama, many capitalized on the estate's iron reserves, and new towns spread with promises of future prosperity. Boom town building followed a common pattern. Promoters secured options on large amounts of land, incorporated a land and development company that was capitalized at an enormous amount, and sold stock to other capitalists to raise funds for exercising lands options and promoting the enterprise.

Directors then laid out the town: streets were staked, and elaborate hotel built for visiting speculators, and a bank organized to suggest financial stability. Bridgeport followed the standard speculative boom town model. New Yorkers Frank and Walter Kilpatrick identified Bridgeport's potential in and slowly acquired land in the area. In the Kilpatricks joined with other northern promoters to launch the Bridgeport Land and Improvement Company, capitalized with The First National Bank formed in to support local business. The Hudson Hotel, a large brick edifice constructed in provided a restaurant and rooms for potential investors. Company leaders laid out streets and flagstone sidewalks along the principal paths, and in installed a water system.

The sewer system, consisting ofterra cotta pipe manufactured locally, was completed in The Bridgeport Land and Improvement Company began circulating publicity about its town in Countering the stigma that Bridgeport might merely be a speculative town, with businesses likely to soon fold, promoters asserted that "Bridgeport is not a transient speculation; it is not an experiment of uncertain solution." Rather, the promoters affirmed, the town was a solid place to invest one's money. But the leaders persisted in typical boom town promotional activities, hiring Edward Hanlan and Fred Plaisted for three widely-publicized boat races that would accompany a building lot sale. Attendees spent as much money on bets as on lots, however.

Only 46 lots were sold on the first day, tallying a meager total of The land sale was called off and the final boat race canceled. Many of the Bridgeport Land and Improvement Company investors also financed and led Bridgeport's early industries, including 0.A. Giles of the Chattanooga Pipe Works (founded and employing 300 men) and E.J. Nellis and A.L. Soulard of the Bridgeport Electric and Ice Company (founded Other nineteenth-century industries included brick yards, lumber companies and saw mills, an ice factory, and the Bridgeport Stove Works (founded BRIDGEPORT DOWNTOWN HAER No. AL-196 (Page 3) The North Carolina & St. Louis Railway provided service to passengers and industry. Stately buildings soon flanked Alabama Avenue from Tennessee Street to State Street.

The three-story triangular Whitcher building, built in provided stores, storage space, offices, and clubrooms. The three-story brick Hudson Hotel, built in on the northwest comer of Johnson Street and Alabama Avenue, included stores, offices, halls, and lodge rooms. The four-story, sandstone Aldhous building erected in between Alabama Avenue and Brummel Avenue and modeled after the Flatiron building in New York city, included a bank , stores, apartments, offices, and lodge rooms, as well as a bowling alley in the basement. The brick and stone, triangular Hoffman House, located where Hudson Avenue and Alabama Avenue intersect, began providing hotel services in The brick Peyton building, erected in offered stores and apartments. Most of these buildings were lost over the years, however.

The Hudson Hotel burned in as did the Aldhous building in 193 7. The Hoffman House was dismantled and donated to the University of the South (Sewanee, TN) in The Whitcher building was tom down in Bridgeport investors planned a variety of housing for the expected newcomers. Queen Anne and Single style homes, housing the most successful citizens, dominated Battery Hill to the northeast of downtown. Kilpatrick Row, southwest of downtown, originally included eight duplex Victorian homes built in for factory management. Four-room bungalow style and two-story cottage style housing, located near various businesses and industries, were built for workers and supervisors. Bridgeport's business and housing development succeeded in attracting new citizens.

What was a small river and rail town of about 200 in the late mushroomed to about people before the century's worst depression hit. But with the financial crisis, building collapsed and the land company was unable to meet its obligations and debts. With this, most of the speculators returned to the North, and Bridgeport struggled to recover its economic strength. In an attempt to revive the town, Bridgeport leaders formed a board of trade at the tum of the century. And in the Bridgeport Reality and Trust Company organized to lead Bridgeport's new growth era. A St. Louis syndicate purchased stock, and the reality and trust company platted business and residence lots for sale for each.

Sale advertisements indicate the severe decline the downtown experienced through the Ten business lots and one four-story office building were for sale in the four-square block downtown. Despite these efforts, Bridgeport spent most of the twentieth-century as a small town, its people supported by the low-wage factory economy that had come to exemplify the rural south. In the late hosiery mills increasingly moved to the northeast seeking low-wage, non-union labor. Aycock Hosiery Mills began operation in Bridgeport in and Jacobs and Spivey Hosiery Mills opened the year after. The Widow's Creek Steam plant, located 4 miles from town, provided another source of employment. The prosperity of the allowed some businesspeople to rebuild parts of downtown that were lost to fire and decay.

The entire block of buildings on the southeast comer of Alabama and Johnson street was built in the with the dominant Loyd's Hardware building erected in Two brick buildings (one now plastered over) were added on the northwest BRIDGEPORT DOWNTOWN HAER No. AL-196 (Page 4) comer of Johnson and Alabama in the as well. The Word family rebuilt the southwest comer of Johnson and Alabama, adding a series of storefronts in the late Business migrated away from downtown Bridgeport throughout the second half of the twentieth century. The growth of highway-junction shopping centers comprising large grocery stores, Walmarts, and other superstores helped force the decline of the South's small-town business districts also drained such small towns of their tax base and fed their decline.

With the exception of a gas station at the comer of Johnson street and Alabama A venue, no building has been added to the business district since the World War II era. A natural gas explosion in January aggravated conditions by eliminating three downtown buildings, and severely damaging others. As of this writing, about two-thirds of the downtown businesses are still in operation. Other properties are used only for storage and have been left to decay. The only surviving nineteenth-century buildings are the Spiller building and (that at one time housed the Ritz theatre) and the Peyton building. There are no plans to renovate or upgrade the downtown as a whole at this time. Bridgeport contains other historic structures that are less threatened.

The Victorian homes of Battery Hill are, for the most part, occupied and kept up by individual owners. Most of the Kilpatrick Row homes are rental units, and some have decayed, though not to a significant degree. Two have burned since construction in only six of the original eight remain. The mission-style Louisville and Nashville Depot is being renovated by the Bridgeport Historical Association, though it is not clear if renovation will be to original design. Bridgeport Stove Works, located in the southeast section of Bridgeport, is still in operation and has portions of its building intact. BRIDGEPORT DOWNTOWN HAER No. AL-196 (Page 5) Sources Consulted Carmichael, Flossie and Ronald Lee. In and Around Bridgeport. Tennessee: College Press, Fuller, Justin.

"Boom Towns and Blast Furnaces: Town Promotion in Alabama, The Alabama Review (January Lambert, Dennis. Bridgeport Historian, personal interview. Proctor, Judith Jones. "Bridgeport, Alabama. An Example of Queen Anne Revival and Shingle Style Architecture in a Late Nineteenth-Century Southern 'Boom Town."' M.A. thesis. Vanderbilt University, Sprague, Stuart Seely. "Alabama and the Appalachian Iron and Coal Town Boom, The Alabama Review (Summer