Naugatuck, Connecticut

Naugatuck is a borough located in New Haven County, Connecticut. As of the 2000 census, the borough had a total population of 30,989. The town spans both sides of the Naugatuck River just south of Waterbury, and includes the town center of Union City, which has its own post office.

The town

Naugatuck is best known for originating Naugahyde, although it is no longer produced there. Charles Goodyear discovered the process of the vulcanization of rubber in the borough. It is home to Peter Paul, Hershey Foodsdivision that produces Almond Joy and Mounds candy bars. The town green features 11 commissions by the renowned New York architecture firm of McKim, Mead and White.

Related Topics:
Naugahyde - Charles Goodyear - Hershey Foods - Almond Joy - Mounds - McKim, Mead and White

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Naugatuck was settled in 1701 as a farming community in rural Western Connecticut. As the Industrial Revolution commenced, Naugatuck was transformed into a hardscabble mill-town like its neighbors in Connecticut's Naugatuck Valley. Rubber was the chief manufacture, produced well into the 1980s. As American manufacturing declined in the late 20th Century, the mills closed and the town felt on largely hard times. Now, with the expansion of the suburbs, especially in New Haven and Fairfield County, the town is largely a bedroom community for the lower-middle class.

Related Topics:
Industrial Revolution - Naugatuck Valley - New Haven - Fairfield County

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The local high school, Naugatuck High, has a storied football rivalry with the high school in Ansonia that is one of the longest in America. Like the other high schools in the Naugatuck Valley, the two teams meet the morning of Thanksgiving Day. The first meeting was in 1895 (104th renewal in 2005). Ansonia is the long-term winner in the series.

Related Topics:
Ansonia - Naugatuck Valley

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