In the middle of the 17
th century, Bridgeport was simply a no-man's land between the growing colonial villages of Stratford and Fairfield. That is no doubt why the citizens of these Puritan communities decided to hang a witch here.
In 1651 a woman named Goody Basset was executed in Stratford after making a confession, probably under torture, which also intimated there were other witches in the area, hinting at "others who hold their heads full high." Other single women in the community and nearby Fairfield were looked upon with suspicion. One of these was Goody Knapp, a "simple minded woman" whom the townspeople regarded with contempt.
