Bridgeport
A map of Bridgeport that we could explore. HISTORY Bridgeport was founded in the 1830's and was originally called Hardscrabble due to a former farmer who lived in the area died due to a Native American raid on his farm. When the Illinois and Michigan Canal was being built to connect the Chicago River with the Mississippi River, Irish immigrants moved to the Bridgeport area to be closer to their canal building job site. At the time, Irish immergrants were looked down upon and segregated due to their lack of a proper education, poverty, and Roman Catholicism beliefs. Because they were uneducated, only doing dangerous work such as digging the canal was available. When the canal opened in 1848, factories opened along the river, giving more work opportunities for the Irish. The area was dubbed Bridgeport due to Ashland Ave. Bridge; the bridge was rather low, meaning any cargo that was tall had to be taken off the boat and be put back on af...