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Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It has an estimated population as of July 1, 2005 of 78,736. The city was named for the place of origin of many of the early settlers, Danbury, Essex in England. Its nickname is Hat City because it used to be a center of the hat industry, at one point producing 25% of America's hats.
Danbury is also the site of a low-security women's prison, the Danbury Federal Correctional Institute. Danbury is home to Danbury Hospital, one of the top ranked hospitals in the country and Danbury High School, one of the largest high schools in Connecticut.
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Danbury Education
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Danbury is home to Western Connecticut State University. It is also home to Danbury High School, Henry Abbott Technical High School, and Immaculate High School.
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Danbury Employment
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ATMI Inc. (ATMI) -- headquarters 7 Commerce Drive; makes materials and materials packaging for semiconductor and flat panel manufacturers worldwide; 700 employees companywide; $281.8 million in 2005 revenues; CEO Doug Neugold
Cartus (a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation) -- headquarters, 40 Apple Ridge Road; Relocation; 1,800 employees (2,700 worldwide); CEO Kevin Kelleher
Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (ETH) -- headquarters, Ethan Allen Drive; designs, manufactures and distributes furniture, rugs, lamps, draperies and other decorative home accessories sold by a network of more than 300 Ethan Allen interior design centers in the United States and abroad; 6,400 employees companywide, 618 in Connecticut; $949 million in 2005 revenues; CEO Farooq Kathwari
Praxair Inc. (PX) -- headquarters, 39 Old Ridgebury Road; the Fortune 500 company makes and sells industrial gases used worldwide in the electronics, metal fabrication, health care and food processing industries, also makes metallic and ceramic powders and coatings; 27,000 employees companywide, 550 in Connecticut; $8.3 billion in 2006 revenues; CEO Steve Angel
Scholastic Library Publishing Inc. (a division of Scholastic Corporation) -- headquarters, 90 Sherman Turnpike; Scholastic Library publishes educational, children's and reference books, including the Encyclopedia Americana (the first encyclopedia published in the US), as well as Nueva Enciclopedia Cumbre en Linea (the Spanish language encyclopedia) and Lands and Peoples. Imprints include Franklin Watts and Children's Press]. Its interactive unit produces games and interactive software, including Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia (the first encyclopedia in electronic form); Greg Worrell, division president.
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Danbury History
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Danbury was first settled by colonists in 1685, when eight families moved to the area from the area that is now Norwalk and Stamford. The area was then called Paquiaqe by the Paquioque Native Americans. One of the first settlers was Samuel Benedict who bought land from the Paquioque natives in 1685 along with his brother James, James Beebe, and Judah Gregory. The settlers originally chose the name Swampfield for their town, but in October 1687, the general court decreed the name Danbury.
During the American Revolution, Danbury was an important military supply depot for the Continental army. On April 26-27, 1777, the British under Major General William Tryon burned and looted the city. The central motto on the Seal of the City of Danbury is Restituimus (Latin for "We have restored"), a reference to the destruction caused by the Loyalist army troops. The American General David Wooster was mortally wounded near the city of Ridgefield, Connecticut by these same British forces which had earlier attacked Danbury. He is buried in Danbury's Wooster Cemetery, and the private Wooster School in Danbury is named in his honor.
In 1780, the first hat factory in Danbury was established by Zadoc Benedict, employing three workers and producing 18 hats a week. Danbury was known as "The Hat City" or the "Hatting Capital of the World" during the early 20th Century.
In 1802, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association, a religious group, in which he used the expression "Separation of Church and State". It is the first known instance of the expression, which does not appear in the U.S. Constitution, contrary to popular belief. (This letter is on display at the Unitarian-Universalist Congregation of Danbury.)
The first Danbury Fair was held in 1821. By 1869, it became a yearly event and was held until 1981. After 1981, the fairgrounds were demolished to make room for the Danbury Fair Mall.
In 1835, the Connecticut Legislature granted a rail charter to the "Fairfield County Railroad," but after 15 years, no work had been completed and investment was slow. In 1850, the organization's vast plans were scaled back and it was renamed the "Danbury and Norwalk Railroad." Work moved quickly on the 23-mile (37 km) railroad line. In 1852, the first railroad line in Danbury opened, with two trains making the 75-minute trip to Norwalk.
In 1902, the American Federation of Labor union called for a nationwide boycott of a non-union hat manufacturer, Dietrich Loewe, in Danbury. The manufacturer sued the union under the Sherman Antitrust Act for unlawfully restraining trade. The Supreme Court held that the union was liable for damages in 1908. This case is also known as the Danbury Hatters case.
A 60-acre (24 hectares) tract near the Danbury Fairgrounds known as Tucker's Field was purchased by local pilots in 1928, and leased to the town. This became an airport, which is now Danbury Municipal Airport (ICAO airport code: KDXR).
Connecticut's largest lake, Candlewood Lake, was artificially created in 1929 where Wood Creek and the Rocky River meet near the Housatonic River. The lake is operated as a hydroelectric power facility by the Connecticut Light and Power Company. In June 2006, Connecticut Light and Power company sold the man-made lake for nine million dollars.
In the August 1988 issue of Money Magazine, Danbury topped the magazine's list of the best U.S. cities to live in, mostly due to low crime, good schools, and location.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Danbury, where I-84 enters Connecticut, was a popular place for out-of-staters to purchase Powerball tickets. Those who live west of the Hudson River now usually find Pennsylvania more convienient for Powerball.
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Danbury News
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Search for "Danbury CT" - Steppin' Out Calendar - Stamford Times
| Steppin' Out Calendar Music Calf Pasture Beach, Norwalk. Wednesday, Sept. 3: Sharkey and The Unknowns; 7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring a picnic and comfortable seating. |
- Steppin' Out Calendar - Thehour.com
| MusicCalf Pasture Beach, Norwalk. Wednesday, Sept. 3: Sharkey and The Unknowns; 7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring a picnic and comfortable seating. |
- State Rep Jason Bartlett wants State Central to show Lieberman the door - My Left Nutmeg
| As I stated in an earlier post, today, the Danbury News-Times reports that Connecticut delegate State Rep. |
- Fairfield County Calendar - Stamford Times
| Fairfield County Calendar Music Calf Pasture Beach, Norwalk. Wednesday, Sept. 3:Sharkey and The Unknowns; 7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring a picnic and comfortable seating. |
- The Vibe Report - " August - 08 - Adam's World
| August was a month of good press and good TV, but also of sad passings and recording industry BS. |
- Comcast takes away stations - NewsTimesLive.com
| This is in response to Janis Gibson and Lisa Helms : The representative from Comcast forgot to tell you that the charge for the boxes, after one year, will be $3.99 per box. |
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Danbury Recreation
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Hiking trails
- Bear Mountain Reservation
- The Old Quarry Nature Center has two short educational trails on 39 acres (15 hectares) off Mountainville Avenue.
- Tarrywile Mansion and Park is one of Danbury's most popular parks. There are 28 miles of trails as well as several ponds located on the 800-acre (264 hectare) park. The historic Victorian mansion and gardens are a common location for weddings.
- Other trails in the area can be found at berkshirehiking.com
Parks
- Danbury Candlewood Park overlooks Candlewood Lake. Swimming, picnicking, and a boat launch are available in the 11.1 acre (45,000 m²) park.
- Elmwood Park
- Hatters Community Park
- Kenosia Park
- Richter Park
- Rogers Park
- Tarrywile Park
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Danbury Transportation
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Danbury is the terminus of the Danbury branch line of the MTA Metro-North Railroad which begins in Norwalk. The line was first built by the Norwalk and Danbury Railroad which was later bought by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company. Danbury was an important junction between the Danbury Branch and Maybrook Line. The Maybrook line was the New Haven's main freight line which terminated in Maybrook, New York, where the New Haven exchanged traffic with other railroads. After the ill-fated Penn Central took over the New Haven, the Maybrook line was shut down when a fire on the New Haven bridge over the Hudson River made the line unusable. Many believe the fire was set by Penn Central to reroute that freight traffic over their Boston & Albany route to the north. Today, the historic station is part of the Danbury Railroad Museum. The Providence and Wooster Railroad, along with the Housatonic Railroad provide local rail freight service in Danbury.
Local bus service is provided by Housatonic Area Regional Transit (HART).
The city is also the location of Danbury Municipal Airport (DXR).
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