Bridgeport

Little Liberia

South of I-95 along Main Street in South End

Story 1

Story 1

Bridgeport

Little Liberia

South of I-95 along Main Street in South End

Vignette1-Mary and Eliza Freeman Houses, Present Day

South of I-95 along Main Street in South End

358-60 Main St, Bridgeport, CT 06604

What

Little Liberia, previously known as Ethiope in the early 1800s, was an autonomous, seafaring community of free Blacks and Native Americans.

Impact

Before Bridgeport became independent of Stratford, two men of color, John Feeley and Jacob Freedmen, purchased a house to the south of downtown in Bridgeport, which is now South End, due to the marshy conditions that often stoked mosquito-borne ailments.

Their presence opened the door to future free African Americans and First Nations, particularly Paugusset, to settle nearby.

WHY? SPATIALIZED?

What set this settlement apart from other enclaves of free African Americans or indigenous was its affluence and economic success during a time of slavery, de facto discrimination, and racial violence.

Due to its seafaring nature, it was a locus of immigration through word of mouth for overseas Hatians, Cape Verdean, and other Afro-Atlantic peoples.