Bridgeport is a growing town in Wise County on State Highway 114 two miles east of Lake Bridgeport, six miles south of Chico city, eight miles west of Decatur, and twenty-seven miles east of Jacksboro.

The community began in 1860 when West Fork Bridge Company granted authority to William H. Hunt and his supporters to construct a wooden bridge over the Trinity River’s West Fork. The bridge was constructed as an extension of the Butterfield Overland Mail route. The small town that developed around the mail route and bridge was named Bridgeport by Pierce Woodward. During the Civil War, the wooden bridge was deserted and collapsed into the river. After the war, a new iron bridge was built to transport goods from Decatur to Fort Richardson. The bridge was completed in 1873 and in that same year, a post office was opened in Bridgeport. In the early 1880s coal was discovered in the area and the Wise County Coal Company was established to mine and sell the coal. Coal remained a major local commodity for the next 40 years but was ultimately replaced with gas and oil.

The small farming town of Bridgeport started to grow with the arrival of the Rock Island Railroad and the establishment of a train depot about 2 miles east of the town. Seeing the opportunity the railroad offered, the town was relocated to be near the train depot. The railroad provided economic prosperity to local ranchers and farmers who now had a way to transport and sell their products to the larger cities. The rail line also brought additional settlers including J.A. Weakley who migrated to Bridgeport from Decanter in 1895. Weakley established the Presbyterian Church in Bridgeport in 1898 on the property purchased from the Bridgeport Town Company. The first church building was constructed in 1898, and the second building was completed in 1960. In the early 1970s, a fire devastated the church but it was rebuilt in 1974.

Bridgeport was no longer a sleepy farming community but became the regional economic and transportation hub. To serve the needs of the growing community, Bridgeport was officially incorporated in1913 and by the year 1920 had a population of 1,870 people, a stone crushing company, and a brick factory. The construction of a dam to create a water reservoir resulted in the establishment of Lake Bridgeport which was completed in 1931.

Lake Bridgeport transformed the town into a lakeside recreational center for travelers, and tourists which helped the community get through the Great Depression. The establishment of oil, gas, and limestone companies helped Bridgeport flourish in the second half of the twentieth century. By 1950 Bridgeport was home to over 2,000 residents and over the next 30 years continued to steadily grow. By the mid-1980s Bridgeport was home to over 3,700 people and had over 150 active businesses. The slow but sustained growth continued and by 1990 the population was over 3,500 people and by the year 2000, the city was home to over 4,300 residents.

Today, Bridgeport is an established community that covers a total area of 7.85 square miles and has a municipal court, a library, fire and police services, parks and recreational areas, malls, churches, schools, and has over 6,800 people who call the city home.