Captain's Cove Seaport 
on
Historic Black Rock Harbor in Bridgeport, Connecticut

This Queen Anne style Victorian was build by Richard Dundon,
who operated a coal yard on Burr Creek. The
house has been moved twice in its existence, once from its original site on
Fairfield Avenue to Hope Street, and from there to its present location at
Captain’s Cove in 1991.
The Dundon House has undergone an extensive renovation over
the past years, and now features an exhibit on the maritime history of our area.
On view are photos, models and artifacts relating to Black Rock Harbor
and the oyster industry in Connecticut. A
collection of objects salvaged from the bottom of Long Island Sound by local
divers is on display; and a series of photos presents the history of the three
area lighthouses. Models,
eighteenth century navigational instruments and sail maker’s tools on loan
from private collections, are among the other items displayed.
The Dundon House is open by appointment only from
May through September.
Please call the Seaport Office at 203-335-1433 for more details.

At the end of the main dock, you’ll find the
Gustave
Whitehead hangar. Whitehead was a
German immigrant who settled in the West End of Bridgeport, in 1900.
An aviation pioneer and mechanical genius, Whitehead conducted numerous
experiments with gliders and heavier then aircraft, culminating in a one half
mile powered flight over Long Island Sound, on August 14, 1901.
This flight, verified by numerous witnesses, took place 28 months before
the first flight of the Wright Brothers at Kittyhawk.
Whitehead conducted other flights at Sport Hill in Easton; Lordship; the
Tunxis Hill and Turney Road areas of Fairfield; and near the present site of
Captain’s Cove Seaport. Unfortunately,
Whitehead kept no photographic record of these experiments, while the Wright
brothers were careful to scientifically document, and promote, their work.
Displayed in the hangar, is an one-half scale model of the
Whitehead #21 aircraft, built by local model maker Bill Wargo.
On December 29, 1986, at Sikorsky Memorial Airport, pilot Andrew Hosch
flew a full-scale replica of #21, for a distance of 330 feet.
This aircraft is now on tour in Germany, where Whitehead, not the
Wrights, is considerer first in flight.