A Brief Look At Bridgeport, Washington

A Brief Look At Bridgeport, Washington

Bridgeport, Washington is located on the banks of the Columbia River about eight miles upstream from where the Okanogan River flows into it. The nearest town is the town of Brewster which is roughly 12 miles to the west of Bridgeport. Bridgeport’s claim to fame is that it is home to Chief Joseph Dam which is the second largest producer of hydropower in the entire United States.

Bridgeport was founded in the late 1880’s but was originally named Westfield. It was mainly a mining community with miners extracting gold from the banks of the Columbia River nearby. The prosperous times of mining near Bridgeport were short and eventually the god ran out.

In the early 1890’s the town site of Westfield was purchased by a company from Bridgeport, Connecticut and the town was renamed in its honor. Around this time area residents changed their focus to agriculture and livestock with cattle and horse grazing the native bunch grass in the area. Wheat fields sprang up and proved successful on the surrounding hillsides and plateaus above the town and fruit orchards were planted on the lowlands along the river.

The town of Bridgeport was incorporated in 1910 with a population of a little over 500 residents. One oddity when thinking about it now is at the time of its incorporation, Bridgeport was home to the largest hotel located between Seattle and Spokane. The agricultural market was good to Bridgeport, but like other communities it was hit hard by the Great Depression.

The United States Government’s decision to build the Chief Joseph Dam at a site approximately one mile east of Bridgeport resurrected the town with the influx of jobs and supporting businesses. The town continues to remain small and focused on agricultural industries, but the nearby dam is a big part of its identity and its life.

There are many recreational opportunities in the Bridgeport area nowadays too. Fishing downstream of the dam is popular as well as fishing and boating on Rufus Woods Reservoir, which is the name of the backed up water of the Columbia River located behind the dam. Just east of the Chief Joseph Dam is Bridgeport State Park which has many campsites available as well as access to the water. Tours, both guided inside the dam and unguided along trails outside the dam, are available at Chief Joseph Dam. Roughly 38 miles to the east of Bridgeport is Grand Coulee Dam which is also a great site to see.

Bridgeport, Washington – another one of the many interesting communities in North Central Washington.

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