The Black Rock Historic District is a predominantly residential
historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...
. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1979. At that time it included 109 contributing buildings. The historic district surrounds at the upper reaches of
Black Rock Harbor
Black Rock Harbor is located in Bridgeport, Connecticut on Long Island Sound. The Black Rock Harbor Light on Fayerweather Island
Black Rock was settled in 1644, and developed as a major shipping and trading center in the 1760s after a bridge over Ash Creek created a direct road connection to Fairfield Center. It was the third largest port in Connecticut at the time of the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, and became the official Port of Entry for Fairfield County in 1790. The village was originally part of Fairfield before being annexed to Bridgeport in 1870. By that time the port had declined in importance. In subsequent years the once-rural village was gradually incorporated into the city's urban fabric. and That portion of the district to the south of Bartram Avenue (88 buildings) is also a City of Bridgeport Local Historic District, where changes to a building's exterior that are visible from a public right-of-way must receive a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic District Commission.
The district includes the Thomas Wheeler Sr. House (1644–80), considered the fourth-oldest house in Connecticut, at 266 Brewster Street.
List of the oldest buildings in Connecticut
This article lists the oldest buildings in the state of Connecticut, United States of America. The dates of construction are based on land tax and probate records, architectural studies, genealogy, radio carbon dating, and dendrochronology. Buildi ...
Other important structures include the Gershom Sturges/Benjamin Penfield House (1803-1836) at 105 Beacon Street, an example of the Greek Revival style; the Wolcott Chauncey House at 150 Seabright Avenue (1769), an example of a Colonial "Cape" house and birthplace of Commodore Isaac Chauncey; the Captain William Hall House at 87 Ellsworth Street (1856), a Gothic-Italianate villa in the "Hudson River Bracketed" mode and home to a major shipyard owner; and the Gould Brothers House at 119-21 Seabright Avenue (1868), a double-house built in the French Second Empire style for two building contractors.
See also
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History of Bridgeport, Connecticut
The history of Bridgeport, Connecticut was, in the late 17th and most of the 18th century, one of land acquisitions from the native inhabitants, farming and fishing. From the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century, Bridgeport's history was one ...
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Black Rock Gardens Historic District
The Black Rock Gardens Historic District is a historic district (United States), historic district in the Black Rock (Bridgeport), Black Rock neighborhood of Bridgeport, Connecticut. It encompasses a small residential development built between 1 ...
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National Register of Historic Places listings in Bridgeport, Connecticut __NOTOC__
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in the city of Bridgeport, ...