Danbury, Connecticut

Danbury, Connecticut
—  City  —
Historic buildings along Main Street, 2007

Seal
Nickname(s): The Hat City
Located in Fairfield County, Connecticut
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Connecticut
County Fairfield
NECTA Danbury
Region Housatonic Valley
Incorporated (town) 1702
Incorporated (city) 1889
Consolidated 1965
Government
 - Type Mayor-council
 - Mayor Mark D. Boughton (R)
Area
 - City 44.3 sq mi (114.7 km2)
 - Land 42.1 sq mi (109.1 km2)
 - Water 2.2 sq mi (5.7 km2)
 - Urban 123.6 sq mi (320.1 km2)
Elevation 397 ft (121 m)
Population (2009)[1]
 - City 79,743
 - Density 1,870/sq mi (722/km2)
 - Metro 163,000
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 06810, 06811, 06813
Area code(s) 203; also future 475
FIPS code 09-18430
GNIS feature ID 0206580
Website http://www.danbury-ct.gov/

Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It has an estimated population (as of July 1, 2009 ) of 79,743.[1] Danbury is the fourth largest city in Fairfield County and is the seventh largest city in Connecticut.

The city was named for the place of origin of many of the early settlers, Danbury, Essex in England. The city has been nicknamed Hat City, because it used to be a center of the hat industry, at one point producing 25% of America's hats.

Danbury is home to Danbury Hospital, northeast of downtown, and Danbury High School, off Route 39.

Contents

History

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 Pahquioque by the Pahquioque 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.

Downtown Main Street scene, ca. 1907

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 at the Battle of Ridgefield 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.[2]

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 group expressing fear of persecution by the Congregationalists of that town, in which he used the expression "Separation of Church and State". It is the first known instance of the expression, which contrary to popular belief does not appear in the U.S. Constitution in those words, but is present by the combined effect of the establishment and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment. The 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, which opened in the fall of 1986.[3]

Danbury reservoir disaster, January 31, 1869

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.

The city of Danbury was incorporated April 19, 1889.

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 U.S. Supreme Court held that the union was liable for damages in 1908. This case is also known as the Danbury Hatters' case.

"Scene of the Disaster at Danbury", January 31, 1869

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, which sold the lake for $9 million in June 2006.

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 convenient for Powerball.

Social activism, desegregation, and conscientious objectors during World War II

During the second World War, Danbury's prison was one of many sites used for the incarceration of conscientious objectors. One in six inmates in the United States' federal prisons was a conscientious objector, and prisons like Danbury found themselves suddenly filled with large numbers of highly educated men skilled in social activism. Due to the activism of inmates within the prison, and local laborers protesting in solidarity with the conscientious objectors, Danbury became one of the nation's first prisons to desegregate its inmates.[4][5][6]

Historic pictures

Main Street looking east from White Street, 1907

National Hat Factory, about 1912

View of a hat factory, 1911

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 44.3 square miles (114.7 km2), of which, 42.1 square miles (109.1 km2) of it is land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km2) of it (4.94%) is water. Danbury is located at . Danbury also surrounds the southern parts of Candlewood Lake.

Demographics

Historical
population
of Danbury[7]
1756 1,527
1790 3,031
1800 3,180
1820 3,873
1850 5,964
1860 7,234
1870 8,753
1880 11,666
1890 19,473
1900 19,474
1910 23,502
1920 22,325
1930 26,955
1940 27,921
1950 30,337
1960 39,382
1970 50,781
1980 60,470
1990 65,585
2000 74,848
2009 79,743
(est.)[8]

As of July 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 78,736. As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 74,848 people, 27,183 households, and 17,886 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,777.4 people per square mile (686.3/km²). There were 28,519 housing units at an average density of 677.2/sq mi (261.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.0% White, 6.8% African American, 0.29% Native American, 5.5% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 7.6% from other races, and 4.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.8% of the population.

There were 27,183 households out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.1% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.18.

The population was distributed as follows: 21.7% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 35.4% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $53,664, and the median income for a family was $61,899. Males had a median income of $39,016 versus $31,319 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,500. About 5.9% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.7% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.

Voter registration and party enrollment as of October 28, 2008[10]
Party Active voters Inactive voters Total voters Percentage
  Democratic 11,194 566 11,760 32.22%
  Republican 6,783 449 7,232 19.82%
  Unaffiliated 16,238 1,267 17,505 47.96%
  Minor parties 363 21 384 0.01%
Total 34,578 2,303 36,881 100%

When ZIP codes were introduced in 1963, the 06810 code was given to all of Danbury; it was shared with a then-still-rural New Fairfield to its north. In 1984, the 06810 Zip Code was cut back to areas of Danbury south of Interstate 84. A new 06811 ZIP code was created for areas north of Interstate 84. New Fairfield received its own code, 06812.

Economy

Government

The chief executive officer of Danbury is the Mayor, who serves a two year term. The current mayor is Mark Boughton (R). The Mayor is the presiding officer of the Common Council, which consists of 21 members, two from each of the seven city wards, and seven at-large.[11] The Common Council enacts ordinances and resolutions by a simple majority vote. If after five days the Mayor does not approve the ordinance (similar to a veto), the Common Council may re-vote on it. If it then passes with a two-thirds majority, it becomes effective without the Mayor's approval. The current Common Council consists of 14 Republicans and 7 Democrats.[11]

Danbury also has four state representatives as of the 2008 elections, Rep. Jason Bartlett D-2, Rep. Joe Taborsak D-109, Deputy Speaker of the House Bob Godfrey D-110, and Rep. Jan Giegler R-138.[12][13] There is one state senator, Michael McLachlan R-24.[13] Danbury is represented in the United States Congress by U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy (D).

Danbury's 2007-2008 mill rate is 21.35.[14]

Danbury is also home to an Army Reserve Special Operations unit, the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion.

Danbury Federal Correctional Institute

Danbury is also the site of a low-security women's prison, the Danbury Federal Correctional Institute,[15] formerly a men's prison. It is located near the border with New Fairfield. Notable ex-prisoners include cocaine dealer and trafficker of Blow fame George Jung, Unification Church leader the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, and hotel magnate Leona Helmsley. James Michael Curley, mayor of Boston from 1945–1949, spent five months of his mayoral term at Danbury Federal Prison, after he was convicted on federal charges of official misconduct. Media personality and homemaker Martha Stewart (incarcerated in West Virginia) and female rap star Lil' Kim requested that their prison terms be served at Danbury Federal Correctional Institute due to its proximity to their New York City homes. However, due to the media attention their requests were denied.

Education

Danbury is home to Western Connecticut State University and Ridley-Lowell Business & Technical Institute.[16]

Public schools

Parochial schools

Roman Catholic parochial schools in Danbury reside within the administration of the Diocese of Bridgeport and include:

Private schools

In addition, Danbury is home to:

Media

Sites of interest

Hiking trails

Parks

Portions of the private Morefar Back O’Beyond golf course are located in Danbury.

Museums

Other

On the National Register of Historic Places

Sports

The Danbury Westerners, a member of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, play their home games at Rogers Park in Danbury.

The Danbury Mad Hatters are one of four founding members of the Eastern Professional Hockey League (2008). They play their home games at the Danbury Ice Arena.

The United Hockey League (UHL) expanded to Danbury in 2004. The Danbury Trashers played their first season at the Danbury Ice Arena in October 2004. Among those on the roster included Brent Gretzky (brother of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky) and Scott Stirling (son of former New York Islanders coach Steve Stirling). Scott's older brother, Todd, coached the Trashers in the 2004-2005 season.

On June 9, 2006 the owner of the Trashers, James Galante, was arrested as part of a federal investigation into illegal practices in the Connecticut garbage industry. Team executives were also charged with fraud as it was alleged the owner illegally subsidized players and violated the league salary cap. The club folded due to the ongoing investigation and lack of teams within close proximity to them.

As of 2006 a new team was created to occupy the ice arena, the New England Stars were formed to represent Danbury in the defunct North Eastern Hockey League.

On March 25, 2008, Danbury was named the first city to officially have a new team in the newly formed Eastern Professional Hockey League. The team is called the Danbury Mad Hatters. The League is now defunct.

Danbury High School carries a strong athletic tradition. They are perennial powers in wrestling, boys and girls track and field, boys cross country, baseball, basketball, and football. The wrestling, cross country, and track teams have all numerous state titles and New England championships. All three programs are considered to be nationally ranked annually.

On December 27, 2009, Danbury was named the first city to officially have a new team in the newly formed Federal Hockey League. The team is named the Danbury Whalers, bringing back the Whalers to Connecticut for the first time since 1997.

The Danbury Hatters Cricket Club formed in 2001 and has been playing cricket in Southern Connecticut along with other cities such as Norwalk, Stamford, Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury and West Haven

American Top Team has a gym on 13 Barnum Court. American Top Team is an MMA gym.

Transportation

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 Danbury and Norwalk Railroad which was later bought by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company. Danbury was an important junction between the Danbury Branch and the 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 Worcester 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).

Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 7 are the main highways of the city. I-84 runs east-west from the Hudson Valley region of New York towards Waterbury and Hartford. US 7 runs north-south from Norwalk (connecting to I-95) to the Litchfield Hills region. The two highways overlap in the downtown area. The principal surface roads through the city are Lake Avenue, West Street, White Street, and Federal Road. Other secondary state highways are U.S. Route 6 in the western part of the city, Newtown Road, which connects to US 6 east of the city, Route 53 (Main Street and South Street), Route 37 (North Street, Padaranam Road, and Pembroke Road), and Route 39 (Clapboard Ridge Road and Ball Pond Road).

Notable people

Twin cities

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Annual Estimates of the Population for All Incorporated Places in Connecticut" (CSV). 2005 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. June 21, 2006. http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2005-04-09.csv. Retrieved 2006-11-17. 
  2. ↑ Danbury Historical Society web site
  3. ↑ Ravo, Nick, "Country Fair Becomes Land of the Lava Lamp", New York Times, September 4, 1987
  4. ↑ D'Emilio, John. Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin. Simon and Schuster, 2003
  5. ↑ Kosek, Joseph Kip. Acts of Conscience: Christian Nonviolence and Modern American Democracy. Columbia University Press, 2009
  6. ↑ Scott H. Bennett. Radical Pacifism: The War Resisters League and Gandhian Nonviolence in America, 1915-1963. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2003
  7. ↑ http://www.sots.state.ct.us/RegisterManual/regman.htm
  8. ↑ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=16000US0918430&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=Danbury&_cityTown=Danbury&_state=04000US09&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=population_0&ds_name=null&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=
  9. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  10. ↑ "Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 25, 2005" (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of State. http://www.sots.ct.gov/ElectionsServices/lists/2005OctRegEnrollStats.pdf. Retrieved 2006-10-02. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "City of Danbury, Connecticut - Common Council". City of Danbury, Connecticut. http://www.ci.danbury.ct.us/content/45/464/default.aspx. Retrieved 2008-11-17. 
  12. ↑ "Connecticut General Assembly - House of Representatives". Connecticut General Ass. http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/hlist.asp. Retrieved 2008-11-17. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "2008 Election Results - CONNECTICUT NETWORK". Connecticut Network, State of Connecticut. http://www.ctn.state.ct.us/election_results.asp. Retrieved 2008-11-17. 
  14. ↑ "City of Danbury, Connecticut - Frequently Asked Questions". City of Danbury, Connecticut. http://www.ci.danbury.ct.us/content/41/180/350/436.aspx. Retrieved 2008-11-17. 
  15. ↑ Danbury's low-security women prison, by Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Facilities, Retrieved November 17, 2006
  16. ↑ "Ridley-Lowell Business & Technical Institute's Website". http://www.ridley.edu. 
  17. ↑ 2006 Book of Business Lists, Facts and People, published by Westfair Communications Inc. of White Plains, N.Y., in conjunction with its Fairfield County Business Journal, page 57
  18. ↑ http://www.danhosp.org/DH_cardio_layout.cfm?id=142
  19. ↑ Dixon, Ken, "Music Hall of Fame proposed for state", article in Connecticut Post in Bridgeport, Connecticut, April 26, 2007 ("Charles Ives (1874–1954) of Danbury")
  20. ↑ http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/tuttrop-tye.html#RQ004X593

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