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Decorative drawing: a small American settlement seen from a low hill. Not a photograph of this place.

Bridgeport, Ohio

27 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1902 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Pease Township. It lies in ZIP code area 43912. It stands on Wheeling Creek. The Survey maps it on the Wheeling quadrangle. 1,582 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 656 feet above sea level.

Bridgeport within Belmont County

Population over time

2 figures

Bridgeport fell from 1,831 to 1,582 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20101,831
20201,582-249 (-14%)

Then and now

1902 to 1994

The same ground, surveyed 92 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Bridgeport, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of Bridgeport, surveyed 1902

Compare 1902 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

27 sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

11,634 words on this township

Centennial History of Belmont County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens., published 1903 names this settlement in its chapter on Pease Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

The first legal settlement in what is now known as Pease township was made by Captain Kirkwood in the village of Kirkwood adjoining Bridgeport, in 1789. There were some tomahawk claims, made as early as 1785, on ground now embraced in Martin's Ferry, but these could not be held after the bloody attack upon the Kirkwood home, by the Indians in 1791, as heretofore related. Immigration was suspended for a few years. After the treaty of 1795, the Indians were peaceful for a time, and immigrants began to pour in from all sections of the country. The township was organized in 1806, and was called after Judge Pease, of the early courts.

Passage source: Centennial History of Belmont County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens., published 1903.

Between 1825 and 1830 Bridgeport became a very important shipping point. Vast c|uantities of flour manufactitred by the' 30 grist mills in Pease township and vicinity with great quantities of farm produce and live stock were shipped on flatboats to the Southern markets.

Passage source: Centennial History of Belmont County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens., published 1903.

This shows an increase of 1,573 over the census of 1880, and as an evidence of the growth of Bridgeport in wealth as well as in population we note an increase in the assessor's returns in the three wards over those of the year previous of $28,691. The tax levy for Pease township for 1902 is 1.56 and Bridgeport corporation, 2.92.

Passage source: Centennial History of Belmont County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens., published 1903.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Pease Township - it names this place 33 more 33 times.

Fires near this place

22 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 22 fires within 5 miles of Bridgeport between 1992 and 2020, burning about 32 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning14
Arson/incendiarism3
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Equipment and vehicle use1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
13 August 2015Debris and open burningunder an acreWest Virginia Division of ForestryBENWOOD - FALLOVA DRIVE
6 May 1993Arson/incendiarismunder an acreWest Virginia Division of ForestryPINE HILL ROAD
20 April 2016Power generation/transmission/distribution3.0 acresWest Virginia Division of ForestryTURKEY VULTURE FIRE
18 April 1997Arson/incendiarismunder an acreWest Virginia Division of ForestryWV RT. 2
17 April 2019Debris and open burning1.1 acresOhio Department of Natural Resources15159
13 April 2018Arson/incendiarism11 acresWest Virginia Division of ForestryNORTH PARK
8 March 2020Debris and open burning1.5 acresOhio Department of Natural Resources15448
25 March 2003Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresWest Virginia Division of ForestryBROWNS RUN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Belmont County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 1,249 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,249 specimens collected within 10 miles of Bridgeport between 1800 and 1975: 1,039 Plantae, 117 Fungi, 91 Animalia, 2 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. D. Selby, A. D. Selby & E. L. Moseley, A. D. Selby & J. F. Hicks and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Racodium E.M.Fries, 1829Racodium E.M.Fries, 18291829J.R. Paddock
Specimen of Usnea Dill. ex Adans., 1763Usnea Dill. ex Adans., 17631839J.R. Paddock
Specimen of Dysodia oculatana Clemens, 1860Dysodia oculatana Clemens, 18601975not recorded
A photograph of the species Houstonia caerulea, not of this specimenHoustonia caerulea L.1800Guttenberg, G.near Wheeling
A photograph of the species Robinia L., not of this specimenRobinia L.1829Guttenberg, G.Wheeling
A photograph of the species Persicaria virginiana, not of this specimenPersicaria virginiana (L.) Gaertn.1835E. WilkinsonOhio
A photograph of the species Carex sparganioides, not of this specimenCarex sparganioides Muhl. ex Willd.1837B. FrankOhio
A photograph of the species Carex sullivantii, not of this specimenCarex × sullivantii Boott1842W. S. SullivantOhio
A photograph of the species Homalothecium subcapillatum, not of this specimenHomalothecium subcapillatum (Hedw.) Sull.1843D. Sullivan
A photograph of the species Euphorbia maculata, not of this specimenEuphorbia maculata L.1844S. B. MeadOhio
A photograph of the species Jungermannia sullivantii, not of this specimenJungermannia sullivantii Austin1844W. S. Sullivant
A photograph of the species Carex gracilescens, not of this specimenCarex gracilescens Steud.1847G. B. AshcroftOhio

All 1,249 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Bridgeport: 2 past producers, 1 unknown, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Limestone, General, Iron, Bituminous, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Ayers Limestone Quarry,Inc.Bituminous, Stone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Wheeling-Pgh/ Martins Ferry, OhioIronUnknown
Ayers Limestone QuarryLimestone, GeneralPast ProducerSedimentary
Benwood PlantLimestone, GeneralPast ProducerSedimentary

Every working recorded in Belmont County

Storms near this place

20 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bridgeport in 20 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 10 thunderstorm wind, 4 flash flood, 3 flood, 2 hail. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2011Flash FloodBridgeport$75,000The public reported streams in buildings in Bridgeport.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindBridgeport$50,000Law enforcement reported trees down along SR 250 in Bridgeport.
June 2025Flash FloodBridgeport$20,000State official reported roads closed around Bridgeport; some with two feet of water over the road.
May 2011FloodBridgeport$20,000Emergency management reports that several homes are flooded due to a sewage backup. Route 7 was closed.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindBridgeport$20,000Thunderstorm winds blew a large tree onto a parked pickup truck, crushing it.
May 1996Flash FloodBridgeport$20,000no account filed
April 2006Thunderstorm WindBridgeport$10,000Trees blown down along SR 250 in Bridgeport, and along SR 9 near St. Clairsville.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBridgeport$5,000Social media report of an attic window being sucked out and pieces of siding from a home removed.
August 2014FloodBridgeport$2,000Heavy rain caused minor flooding along U.S. 40 in Bridgeport.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindBridgeport$1,000A tree was blown down on Kirkwood Heights Road.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindBridgeport$1,000Several large limbs were downed by thunderstorm winds and a fallen tree block one lane of U.S. 250.
April 1996Thunderstorm WindBridgeport$1,000no account filed
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBridgeport-Social media reports of many trees snapped at the base and items blown away.
February 2020Debris FlowBridgeport-A landslide was reported on US Route 250 at mile marker 7.9, between Highland Avenue and Benson Lane.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindBridgeport-The local emergency manager reported trees down.
August 2018FloodBridgeport-County 911 officials reported that State Route 40 near Bridgeport was flooded.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindBridgeport-The Department of Highways reported trees down on U.S. 250.
March 2007HailBridgeport-Public reported one inch hail in Bridgeport.
June 1998Flash FloodBridgeport-US Route 40 closed due to localized flooding in the Bridgeport area.
August 2004HailBridgeport-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Belmont County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Lombardy Heights0.2 miles27
West Wheeling0.6 miles27
Riverview0.9 miles27
Aetnaville1.0 miles27
Brookside1.1 miles18
Boydsville1.4 miles18
Martins Ferry2.0 miles27
Presidential Estates2.1 miles18

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on BridgeportAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2062947The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1064487. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.