A Sucker Dies Every Minute, Too
PT Barnum & Tom Thumb Graves, Bridgeport
May 17, 2008
When people try to list some of Connecticut’s most famous and/or important residents over the centuries, I should hope that PT Barnum is always remembered. From Bethel to Bridgeport, Barnum was heavily involved in state politics, land preservation, and landscape design.
Oh, and the circus stuff too of course.
Yes folks, there are wild turkeys and flowers in Bridgeport. (At the Mountain Grove Cemetery)
Barnum was (and is) buried at Mountain Grove Cemetery on the north edge of town. The more I learn about Barnum, the more I love/hate him. A total huckster (who never really did say that a “sucker is born every minute,”) Barnum played his foolish customers for all they were worth.
Barnum’s gravesite
Tom Thumb’s gravesite
Designed to be a “get away” from the crowded cities, this “rural cemetery” was designed with gardens, rolling hills, winding roads, and ponds. Wikipedia tells us that Barnum designed the grounds, but I find that impossible to believe.
Also buried here is Charles S. Stratton, aka Tom Thumb, Barnum’s diminutive meal ticket.
And what the heck, I might as well mention none other than Margaret Rudkin is buried here too. Who? Only the founder of Pepperidge Farms! Mmmmm, Mint Milanos… Chessmen… Brussels…
Bless you, Mrs. Rudkin. May you rest in peace.
I really should have found her grave.
CTMQ Visit to the Barnum Museum, Bridgeport
CTMQ Visit to the Barnum Statue, Bethel
Leticia says
March 24, 2010 at 9:22 pmI spent a day in Mount Grove Cemetery and could not find Stratton’s grave. I found Barnum’s but I wasn’t looking for it. Could you please give the the specific details on how to find it?
william jeffries says
April 20, 2011 at 12:22 pmMy mother & stepfather are buried a few grves down
from Tom. Have visited several times but now
limited due to age and health issues. I live
in Alabama.
denise barnum plumadore says
May 16, 2011 at 9:37 pmwould like to visit family members gravesites am very interested in seeing them. hopefully will be able to come this summer
Doug says
July 6, 2011 at 9:58 pmI understand that Fanny J. Crosby is also buried there, nearby to where Barnum is. Sorry, but Barnum’s big memorial is and should be humbled by the blind woman’s discreet little stone. Her friends placed a second memorial close by, with her own words on it, words which will outlast granite:
“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh what a foretaste of Glory Divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of the Spirit, washed in His blood.”
Faith says
October 23, 2011 at 11:45 amLeticia,go in the main gate on North Avenue. A chapel and a mausoleum will be on your LEFT as you proceed down the main road. Go straight. Go past the deer on a tall stone which will be on your LEFT side as you pass. There will be tombs on the hillside on your RIGHT. Go straight. Keep going . Straton’s grave will be on your RIGHT side-look for a tall monument with his figure on top. It is nearly by the oradside-you can not miss this. P.T.Barnum is over in that area also. I know this cemetery better than I know my own name. My Dad worked here for 45 years. Hope this helps!
Mel says
September 9, 2013 at 4:27 pmTom Thumb’s grave is right across the path from Barnum’s. My grandparents are buried right next to one of the ponds. We used to skip school & hang out in the very back of the grounds, right along Rooster River.
RICHARD ANTHONY SATTANNI says
August 9, 2015 at 6:29 pmI think it is great to have PT.BARNUM buried here in MOUNTAIN GROVE CEMETARY.I wonder what he would think of BRIDGEPORT if he were to come back from the dead and see the many changes he never had a chance to change as MAYOR.
Ed Frazier says
November 8, 2015 at 12:49 pmFanny Crosby is my favorite hymn writer !
marilyn & mike says
May 3, 2017 at 3:53 pmwe’re coming up from florida to see tom thumb & p.t. barnum resting places and we thank all those who offered directions as we’ve never been to this cemetery before. happy spring!!