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town of Bridgeport is one of the oldest in Saginaw County, the first settlers
having come to that place about the year 1835. Though the exact date is
somewhat uncertain Auri Campbell was the first white man to settle at
Bridgeport and he built the first house in the township, a log structure
somewhere near the present town, though the exact site is not known. Shortly
afterward in1836 a man named Campbell built the second house. What is
now Bridgeport was first called “The Bend of the Cass” or
“Cass Bend” owning to the fact that the Cass River makes a
sharp bend at the site of the village. On the spot now known as “Cass
Bridge” Lilly Cook had started a village which he called “Bridgeport”
because of the fact that it was the point where the Flint trail crossed
the Cass River. Cook built this village with the intention of making it
the chief place in the township and a hotel and post office were established
continuing for a number of years.
A man named Bull had however settled at “Cass Bend”, the present
site of Bridgeport and had also built a hotel which he called the Bridgeport
Center House. His settlement gradually became known at Bridgeport while
the other town was called Cass Bridge. Bridgeport was organized as a township
in 1848. In 1847 the supervisors ordered the building of a road from the
Cass Bridge to the county line and this turnpike connecting with one already
extending to Flint, gave Bridgeport its first road which naturally greatly
stimulated its growth.
With the building of the electric line between Flint and Saginaw the town
for a time took a new lease of life. The railroad came after many bitter
fights and a large powerhouse was built in Bridgeport which brought a
number of families to the town. With the completion of the Au Sable power
project however this plant was dismantled and the men left town.
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 Typical country village.
The village of Bridgeport because of its nearness to Saginaw has for many
years been the Mecca of Saginaw people wishing to get away from the city
and into the real country. Though so near to Saginaw, being only 6 miles
from the city it is as typical a country village as can be found and this
fact combined with the ease with which it can be reached has made it an
ideal spot for picnics, many Saginaw people taking advantage of its natural
beauties every summer.
The cultivation of the land and the general development of the district
has somewhat encroached on the former haunts of the picnickers and has
in part forced them to seek other places. It is a town of about 300 inhabitants
and has the service of two railroads, the Pere Marquette and the Michigan
Railway company’s interurban lines. The proximity of Bridgeport
to Saginaw has largely removed the necessity of stores and other business
establishments the residents being accustomed to coming to Saginaw for
such goods, as they require.
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