Time Travel: Revisiting the Bridgeport Fireman's Fair and Now Extinct Tourist Camp on Route 50 in Salem
By Dick Duez on August 30, 2026 from History Blog
There is plenty to take in from this photo believed to be from a period in the 1960s. It shows a parade for the Bridgeport Fireman's Fair along Main Street crossing what is today the Lloyd Lang Memorial Bridge. Notice the folks sitting atop the hold bridge and what looks like one youngster spraying others with a water gun or device. If you have any thoughts, feel free to share them on the social media pages of Connect-Bridgeport.
These tourist camps were all along U.S. Route 50 in West Virginia in the early days of that roadway. This one, Jay's Tourist Camp, was in Salem. The exact date of the photo is unknown. Route 50 was first the George Washington Road and then the North West Virginia Turnpike in the 1830s. By the 1920s when the road became part of the federal government highways system it became U.S. Route 50 in 1928.
Editor's Note: This ongoing photo feature of pictures from Bridgeport and throughout the Mountain State is part of local historian Richard "Dick" Duez's collection. Duez, the unofficial historian of Bridgeport, would appreciate any scanned photos emailed to him for use here or to include in his ongoing efforts to preserve local history. You can email photos, or let him know how to acquire copies of photos you may have in your possession, to Duez at at dick@duez.ws
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