Danbury, Connecticut

Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, approximately 70 miles from New York City. Danbury's population at the 2010 census was 80,893. Danbury is the fourth most-populous city in Fairfield County, and seventh among Connecticut cities.

The city was named for the place of origin of many of the early settlers, Danbury, Essex, England, and has been nicknamed Hat City, because of its history in the hat industry, at one point producing almost 25% of America's hats.

Danbury is home to a regional hospital as well as Western Connecticut State University.

History
Danbury was settled by colonists in 1685, when eight families moved from what are now Norwalk and Stamford, Connecticut. The Danbury area was then called Pahquioque by its namesake, the Pahquioque American Indians. One of the original settlers was Samuel Benedict, who bought land from the Paquioques in 1685, along with his brother James Benedict; James Beebe, and Judah Gregory. Also called Paquiack ("open plain" or "cleared land") by local American Indians, the settlers chose the name Swampfield for their town, but in October 1687, the general court decreed the name Danbury. The general court appointed a committee to lay out the boundaries of the new town. A survey was made in 1693, and a formal town patent was granted in 1702.

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 at the Battle of Ridgefield by the same British forces which had attacked Danbury. He is buried in Danbury's Wooster Cemetery; the private Wooster School in Danbury also was named in his honor.

In 1780, the first hat factory in Danbury was established by Zadoc Benedict; it had 3 employees, and made 18 hats weekly. Danbury was known as "The Hat City" or the "Hatting Capital of the World" during the early 20th century, as it produced 24% of America's hats in 1904.

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 often believed to be present by the combined effect of the establishment and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment. James Madison, considered the founder of the Constitution, used similar language regarding such separation. The letter is on display at the Unitarian-Universalist Congregation of Danbury.

The first Danbury Fair was held in 1821. In 1869, it became a yearly event; the last edition was in 1981. The fairgrounds were cleared to make room for the Danbury Fair Mall, which opened in autumn 1986.



In 1835, the Connecticut Legislature granted a rail charter to the Fairfield County Railroad, which saw no construction as investment was slow. In 1850, the organization's plans were scaled back, and renamed the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad. Work moved quickly on the 23-mile (37 km) railroad line. In 1852, it, the first railroad line in Danbury, opened, with two trains making the 75-minute trip to Norwalk.

The central part of Danbury was incorporated as a borough in 1822. The borough was reincorporated as the city of Danbury on April 19, 1889. The city and town were consolidated on January 1, 1965.

The Kohanza Reservoir, one of many reservoirs built to provide water to the hat factories, broke on January 31, 1869. The ensuing flood of icy water killed 11 people within 30 minutes, and caused major damage to homes and farms.

In 1902, the American Federation of Labor union called for a nationwide boycott of a Danbury non-union hat manufacturer, Dietrich Loewe. The manufacturer sued the union under the Sherman Antitrust Act for unlawfully restraining trade. The U.S. Supreme Court, in 1908, held that the union was liable for damages. This also is known as the Danbury Hatters' case.

A 60 acre tract near the 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.

Connecticut's largest lake, Candlewood Lake, was artificially created in 1929 where Wood Creek and the Rocky River meet near the Housatonic River. The land that is now the lake was owned and operated by Connecticut Light and Power Company as a hydroelectric power facility until sold 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.

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.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, Danbury has a total area of 44.3 sqmi, of which 42.1 sqmi is land and 2.2 sqmi, or 4.94%, is water. The city includes the southern parts of Candlewood Lake.

Danbury has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa) and humid subtropical (Cfa), with four distinct seasons, resembling Hartford more than coastal Connecticut or New York City. Summers are hot and humid, while winters are cold with significant snowfall. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 26.8 °F in January to 73.9 °F in July; on average, temperatures reaching 90 °F or 0 °F occur on 18 and 3.1 days of the year, respectively. The average annual precipitation is approximately 52.1 in, which is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year; snow averages 50 in per season, although this total may vary considerably from year to year. Extremes in temperature range from 106 °F on July 22, 1926 down to -17 °F on February 9, 1934.

Demographics
As of the census 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 per square mile (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.

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

 * ATMI Inc. – headquarters 7 Commerce Drive; makes materials and materials packaging for semiconductor and flat panel manufacturers worldwide; 700 employees company wide; US$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. – 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 company wide, 618 in Connecticut; $949 million in 2005 revenues; CEO Farooq Kathwari
 * Praxair Inc. – 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 company wide, 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
 * Union Carbide made Danbury its headquarters in 1983. The company remained there for over 20 years, until it was merged into Dow chemical.

Top employers
According to the City's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

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. 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.

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

Danbury's 2010 mill rate is 20.96.

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

Danbury Federal Correctional Institute
Danbury is the site of a low-security women's prison, the Danbury Federal Correctional Institute, 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, Ridley-Lowell Business & Technical Institute, and the Branford Hall Career Institute.

Public schools
Danbury has two public high schools: Danbury High School and Henry Abbott Technical High School, each which are for grades 9 through 12. An alternative school by the name of Alternative Center for Excellence is housed off-campus, and it graduates receive Danbury High School diplomas upon completion of their studies. Danbury also has two public middle schools for grades 6 through 8: Broadview Middle School and Rogers Park Middle School. There are 13 elementary schools in Danbury. These schools are Western Connecticut Academy for International Studies Magnet School (K-5), Ellsworth Avenue (K-5), Great Plain (K-5), Hayestown (K-5), King Street Primary (K-3) and King Street Intermediate (4–5), Mill Ridge Primary (K-3), Morris Street (K-5), Park Avenue (K-5), Pembroke (K-5), Shelter Rock (K-5), South Street (K-5) and Stadley Rough (K-5)

Parochial schools
Roman Catholic parochial schools in Danbury reside within the administration of the Diocese of Bridgeport and include:
 * 1 high school: Immaculate High School (9–12)
 * 3 elementary schools: St Peter-Sacred Heart School (Birth-8), St. Gregory the Great School (PK-8),and St. Joseph School (PK-8)

Private schools
In addition, Danbury is home to:
 * Anderson Montessori School
 * Colonial Hills Christian Academy
 * Hudson Country Montessori School
 * New England Country Day School
 * Maimonides Academy
 * Wooster School
 * Immanuel Lutheran School

Media

 * HamletHub Danbury a local news publication.
 * The News-Times of Danbury, a daily newspaper owned by Media News Group.
 * Tribuna Newspaper a biweekly, bilingual (Portuguese/English) publication.
 * WFAR-FM 93.3 – Radio Familia Portuguese Radio Station.
 * WLAD-AM 800; 1,000 watts (daytime); 287 watts (nighttime)
 * WDAQ-FM 98.3; 3,000 watts; owned by the Berkshire Broadcasting Corporation
 * WXCI-FM 91.7; 3,000 watts; College radio station owned by Western Connecticut State University and operated by past and present students. It receives funding from the Western Connecticut State University Student Government Association.

Libraries
The Danbury Public Library maintains a large collection of print fiction and non-fiction. The growing DVD collection has recently been augmented by a new Blu-ray collection. The Danbury Library was established in 1879 to serve the growing city of Danbury.

The Long Ridge Library is a small library occupying an old schoolhouse on Long Ridge Road in Danbury, near the border with West Redding. The library is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays except in winter and hosts a monthly book club.

Hiking trails

 * Bear Mountain Reservation
 * The Old Quarry Nature Center has two short educational trails on 39 acre off Mountainville Road, with an alternate foot-travel-only entrance at the end of Memorial Drive.
 * Tarrywile Mansion and Park is one of Danbury's most popular parks. There are 21 mi of trails as well as several ponds located on the 722 acre park. The historic Victorian mansion and gardens are a common location for weddings. The Ives Trail runs through the park.
 * The nearly completed Ives Trail is a 14-mile stretch of trail that runs from Bennett's Pond in Ridgefield through Wooster Mountain State Park, Tarrywile Park, and (pending completion) through Bethel Public Water Supply property on Long Ridge Road into Bethel. The Charles Ives House and Hearthstone Castle are located along this trail.

Parks

 * Danbury Candlewood Park overlooks Candlewood Lake. Swimming, picnicking, and a boat launch are available in the 11.1 acre park.
 * Elmwood Park
 * Hatters Community Park
 * Kenosia Park
 * Richter Park
 * Rogers Park
 * Highland Avenue Park
 * Blind Brook Park
 * Bear Mountain Reservation
 * Tarrywile Park – Recreation park on 722 acre with 21 mi of hiking trails. Mansion is a community center available for rental, more information can be found at www.tarrywile.com

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

Museums

 * Danbury Museum and Historical Society
 * Danbury Railway Museum
 * Military Museum of Southern New England

Other

 * Danbury was the home of the Danbury Fair (1869–1981). The Danbury Fair Mall was built on the fairgrounds in 1986.
 * Danbury is home to the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion, an Army Reserve Special Operations unit.
 * Danbury Hospital is a 400-bed institution with 3,300 employees. The hospital is the home of the new Praxair Regional Heart and Vascular center, providing state of the art cardiovascular care to this growing region including open heart surgery and coronary angioplasty.
 * Richter Park Golf Course is Danbury's municipal golf course and hosts numerous tournaments such as the annual Danbury Amateur and American Junior Golf Association majors. It has won a variety of awards, including being a "Top 10 Connecticut Course" and the "#2 Best Public Course in the NY Metropolitan Area".

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

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.

In 2006, a new team was created to occupy the ice arena. The New England Stars were formed to represent Danbury in the North Eastern Hockey League. Although the team was successful, the league suspended operations in 2008.

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 was called the Danbury Mad Hatters. The League lasted one season and is now defunct.

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 name "Whalers" to Connecticut for the first time since 1997. The original Hartford Whalers of the WHA/NHL moved to North Carolina and became the Carolina Hurricanes.

Danbury High School carries a strong athletic tradition. They are perennial powers in wrestling, boys and girls track and field, boys cross country, baseball, tennis, 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.

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).

In pop culture

 * In the 1991 Seinfeld episode The Baby Shower (Seinfeld) Elaine mentions her roommate is doing a play in Danbury.
 * In the 2011 30 Rock episode I Heart Connecticut the Danbury Railway Museum is referenced.
 * In the 2012 Weeds episode Only Judy Can Judge the Danbury mall is referenced.
 * In the popular Adult Swim cartoon Metalocalypse season 2 episode 15 "Dethdad", Nathan Explosion references Danbury Ct. in the line "Danbury Connecticut is more brutal" than Norway.
 * Parts of Strangers on a Train were filmed in Danbury.
 * Parts of Rachel, Rachel were filmed in and around Danbury.
 * Parts of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 were filmed in Danbury and various other locations around Connecticut.

Notable people

 * Ray Cappo, vocalist for bands Youth of Today and Shelter grew up in Danbury.
 * Marian Anderson, (February 27, 1897 – April 8, 1993) singer, lived in Danbury at her estate, Mariana Farms.
 * James Montgomery Bailey, 19th-century Danbury News editor noted for popular, nationally-syndicated "Danbury News Man" pieces.
 * Julius Baker, principal flutist of the New York Philharmonic from 1965 to 1983.
 * Jonathan Brandis (1976–2003), actor
 * Felix Cavaliere, producer, musician
 * Neil Cavuto, Fox television anchor
 * Tracy Chapman, singer
 * Frank Conniff (1914–1971), journalist and editor who won a 1956 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting
 * Charles Ives (1874–1954), one of America's most influential composers
 * Joe Lahoud, MLB player for the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, California Angels, Texas Rangers, and the Kansas City Royals
 * Rose Wilder Lane, author, writer, daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder
 * Merle Miller, biographer of Harry S. Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson
 * Jimmy Monaghan, Irish boxer and songwriter who was born in Danbury
 * Don Morrow, voice actor, announcer, emcee
 * Jerry Nadeau, former NASCAR Nextel Cup driver (retired due to head injury)
 * Laura Nyro, singer-songwriter
 * Chet Powers, member of rock music band The Youngbloods, author of song Get Together
 * William R. Ratchford, politician: served as state representative, Connecticut Speaker of the House, and a U.S. Congressman for three terms
 * Neil Rudenstine, ex-president of Harvard University
 * Maurice Sendak,1928–2012, writer and illustrator of children's literature
 * Beverly Sills, 1929–2007, opera singer, Director of the Metropolitan Opera
 * Dr Ian Smith, panelist on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club
 * Rex Stout, 1886–1975, Author of the Nero Wolfe detective series
 * Roy M. Terry, Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Air Force
 * John Hubbard Tweedy, U.S. Congressional Delegate from the Wisconsin Territory
 * Samuel Tweedy (1776–1868) was a United States Representative from Connecticut.
 * R. Gordon Wasson (1898–1986) was one of the first westerners to participate in a Mazatec sacred mushroom ritual and study psychedelic mushrooms.
 * Michael Whelan, science fiction and fantasy artist
 * Zalmon Wildman (1775–1835), United States Representative from Connecticut
 * Peter Wiley, cellist