Pequonnock) fostered a boom in shipbuilding and whaling in the mid-19th century. To aid navigation, Bridgeport Harbor Light was constructed in 1851 and reconstructed in 1871. Bridgeport's growth accelerated after the opening of a railroad to the city in 1840. Bridgeport was connected by rail first to New Milford in 1840, then Waterbury and New Haven in 1848, and New York City in 1849. In the 1820s, about the time Connecticut abolished slavery, free blacks started settling in a neighborhood that became known as "Little Liberia", whose oldest surviving buildings date to 1848 and are Connecticut's oldest African-American houses. In the 1830s, East Bridgeport was still largely farmland but the construction of foot and general traffic bridges over the Pequonnock in the 1840s and 1850s opened the area to development and it was not long before the area became a major area for industry. Bridgeport annexed Black Rock and its busy harbor in 1870. The annexation added Black Rock Harbor Light to the city's navigation aids and, in 1874, Penfield Reef Light was soon added on the south side of Black Rock harbor. Bridgeport harbor remained active and Tongue Point Light was constructed in 1895 to mark its west boundary. In the late 19th century, Bridgeport became the county seat of Fairfield County. County government was abolished in Connecticut in 1960, but the Fairfield County Courthouse built in 1888 still stands as testimony to that time in Bridgeport's history. In 1902, rail traffic was simplified with the addition of the Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge. Trolley service also came to Bridgeport and, in 1910, a major repair and storage facility, the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company Car Barn, was constructed in downtown Bridgeport. Abraham Lincoln's visit In February 1860, Abraham Lincoln came east to speak at Cooper Union in New York City, where on February 27 he impressed eastern Republicans as an intelligent, dignified statesman and gained support in his bid for the presidential nomination. Since the speech went over well, he made several others (all similar to his Cooper Union speech) in Connecticut and Rhode Island, traveling by train to various cities. After stopping in Providence, Norwich, Hartford, Meriden and New Haven, he made his final speech in the evening of Saturday, March 10, in Bridgeport. His train was scheduled to stop at 10:27 a.m. in Bridgeport, and he likely met with Republican leaders. "He was entertained at the home