Bridgeport’s post office opened in 1873, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #172 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Bridgeport was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 20 buildings. Below: maps from 1921 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Bridgeport post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bridgeport’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bridgeport is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #172 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bridgeport’s overall grade.
Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bridgeport’s 31.6 sits above most of its state (93% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 20 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Bridgeport’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Bridgeport's history began in February 1860 when William H. Hunt was granted a charter from the West Fork Bridge Company to build a bridge across the West Fork of the Trinity River. The bridge was located approximately one mile southwest of the present townsite. A Texas State Historical Marker alongside Farm To Market Road 920 denotes the spot of the original bridge today.
The wooden bridge was used for a portion of the Butterfield Overland Mail stage route used for only a few months between August 1860 and March 1861. After the American Civil War began, the mail route was no longer used and the original wooden bridge was abandoned, deteriorated and collapsed into the river.
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
People over time
Bridgeport, census by census
Between 39 and 5,976 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bridgeport’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Bridgeport’s history
What year was Bridgeport founded?
The Bridgeport post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Bridgeport rank for history?
Bridgeport is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #172 of 642 in Texas. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Bridgeport?
One place: the Bridgeport Commercial Historic District (listed 2024).
How old are the homes in Bridgeport?
0.9% of Bridgeport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1977.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2021
2004
