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Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City" because it was the center of the American hat industry for a period in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The mineral danburite is named for Danbury while the city itself is named for Danbury in Essex, England. Danbury is home to Danbury Hospital, Western Connecticut State University,
Danbury Fair Mall Danbury Fair (also referred to as Danbury Fair Mall) is an upscale shopping mall located in Danbury, Connecticut. As of 2011, it is the second largest shopping mall in Connecticut, as well as the fifth largest in New England. It is located off of I ...
and
Danbury Municipal Airport Danbury Municipal Airport is a public use general aviation and commercial airport located three miles (5 km) southwest of the central business district of Danbury, in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The airport opened in 1930 ...
. In November 2015, '' USA Today'' ranked Danbury as the second best city to live in the United States. In April 2021, '' WalletHub'' ranked Danbury as the 10th most diverse city in the United States, the most diverse city in New England, and the third most diverse city in the New York metropolitan area (behind
Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
). The ranking considers socioeconomic, cultural, economic, household, and religious diversity.


History

Danbury was settled by colonists in 1685, when eight families moved from what are now Norwalk and
Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...
. The Danbury area was then called ''Pahquioque'' by its namesake, the Algonquian-speaking Pahquioque Native Americans (they are believed to have been a band of the
Paugusset The Golden Hill Paugussett is a state-recognized Native American tribe in Connecticut. Granted reservations in a number of towns in the 17th century, their land base was whittled away until they were forced to reacquire a small amount of territor ...
people), who occupied lands along the Still River. Bands were often identified by such geographic designation but they were associated with the larger nation by culture and language). One of the original settlers in Danbury was Samuel Benedict, who bought land from the Paquioque in 1685, along with his brother James Benedict, James Beebe, and Judah Gregory. This area was also called Paquiack ("open plain" or "cleared land") by the Paquioque. In recognition of the wetlands, the settlers chose the name Swampfield for their town. In October 1687, the general court decreed the name Danbury. The general court appointed a committee to lay out the new town's boundaries. A survey was made in 1693, and a formal town patent was granted in 1702. During the Revolutionary War, Danbury was an important military supply depot for the
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establ ...
.
Sybil Ludington Sybil (or Sibbell) Ludington (April 5, 1761 – February 26, 1839) is recognized as a heroine of the American Revolutionary War; the accuracy of these accounts is questioned by modern scholars. On April 26, 1777, the 16-year-old daughter of a c ...
, 16-year-old daughter of American Colonel Henry Ludington, is said to have made a 40-mile ride in the early hours of the night on April 26, 1777, to warn the people of Danbury and her father's forces in
Putnam County, New York Putnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,668. The county seat is Carmel. Putnam County formed in 1812 from Dutchess County and is named for Israel Putnam, a hero in th ...
, of the approach of British regulars, helping them muster in defense; these accounts, originating from the Ludington family, are questioned by modern scholars.Paula D. Hunt, "Sybil Ludington, the Female Paul Revere: The Making of a Revolutionary War Heroine." ''New England Quarterly'' (2015) 88#2, pp. 187–222, quote p 18
online
/ref> During the following day on April 26, 1777, the British, under Major General
William Tryon Lieutenant-General William Tryon (8 June 172927 January 1788) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as governor of North Carolina from 1764 to 1771 and the governor of New York from 1771 to 1777. He also served duri ...
, burned and sacked Danbury, but fatalities were limited due to Ludington's warning. The central motto on the seal of the City of Danbury is ''Restituimus'', (
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
for "We have restored"), a reference to the destruction caused by the Loyalist army troops. The American General
David Wooster David Wooster ( – May 2, 1777) was an American general who served in the French and Indian War and in the American Revolutionary War. He died of wounds sustained during the Battle of Ridgefield, Connecticut. Several cities, schools, and public ...
was mortally wounded at the
Battle of Ridgefield The Battle of Ridgefield was a battle and a series of skirmishes between American and British forces during the American Revolutionary War. The main battle was fought in the village of Ridgefield, Connecticut, on April 27, 1777. More skirmishin ...
by the British forces which had raided Danbury, but at the beginning of the battle, the Americans succeeded in driving the British forces down to Long Island Sound.Sybil Ludington: a Revolutionary Hero
traverseforwomen.com; accessed February 23, 2015.
Wooster is buried in Danbury's Wooster Cemetery; the private
Wooster School Wooster School is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory school (grades 5 through 12) in Danbury, Connecticut. It is a member of the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools. Overview The Wooster School motto is ''Ex Quoque Potestate ...
in Danbury also was named in his honor. In 1802, President
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nati ...
wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association, a group expressing fear of persecution by the
Congregationalists Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs it ...
of that town, in which he used the expression "
Separation of Church and State The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...
". It is the first known instance of the expression in American legal or political writing. The letter is on display at the Unitarian-Universalist Congregation of Danbury. The first
Danbury Fair The Danbury Fair (also known as The Great Danbury State Fair) was a yearly exhibition in Danbury, Connecticut. It was begun in 1821 as an agricultural fair, but did not have a regular schedule until 1869 when hat manufacturers Rundle and White ...
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 The Danbury and Norwalk Railroad, chartered in 1835 as the Fairfield County Railroad, was an independent American railroad that operated between the cities of Danbury and Norwalk, Connecticut from 1852 until its absorption by the Housatonic Rai ...
, but construction was delayed because of lack of investment. In 1850, the organization's plans were scaled back, and renamed the
Danbury and Norwalk Railroad The Danbury and Norwalk Railroad, chartered in 1835 as the Fairfield County Railroad, was an independent American railroad that operated between the cities of Danbury and Norwalk, Connecticut from 1852 until its absorption by the Housatonic Railr ...
. Work moved quickly on the railroad line. In 1852, 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 first dam to be built on the river, to collect water for the hat industry, impounded the
Kohanza Reservoir The Kohanza Reservoir was a reservoir in Danbury, Connecticut. Construction was completed in 1866. It was the first of many reservoirs built to supply Danbury's hat factories. The dam broke on January 31, 1869. The ensuing flood of ice and water ...
. This dam broke on January 31, 1869, under pressure of ice and water. The ensuing flood of icy water killed 11 people within 30 minutes, and caused major damage to homes and farms. As a busy city, Danbury attracted traveling shows and tours, including
Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years ...
's Wild West Show in 1900. It featured young men of the
Oglala Sioux The Oglala (pronounced , meaning "to scatter one's own" in Lakota language) are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people who, along with the Dakota, make up the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Seven Council Fires). A majority of the Oglala live ...
nation, who re-enacted events from frontier history. Oglala Sioux Albert Afraid of Hawk died on June 29, 1900, at age 21 in Danbury during the tour. He was buried at
Wooster Cemetery Wooster may refer to: Places India * Wooster Nagar, a small fishing village in the state of Tamil Nadu United States * Wooster, Arkansas, a town in Faulkner County * Wooster, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Wooster, Kosciusko Count ...
. In 2012, employee Robert Young discovered Afraid of Hawk's remains. The city consulted with Oglala Sioux leaders of the
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation ( lkt, Wazí Aháŋhaŋ Oyáŋke), also called Pine Ridge Agency, is an Oglala Lakota Indian reservation located entirely within the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the G ...
and arranged repatriation of the remains to the nation. This meeting occurred in the Health Sciences Library of Danbury Hospital with assistance of the Chaplain. Wrapped in a bison skin, the remains were transported to Manderson, South Dakota, to Saint Mark's Episcopal Cemetery, for reburial by tribal descendants. In 1928 local plane pilots bought a tract near the Fairgrounds, known as Tucker's Field, and leased it to the town. This was developed as an airport, which is now
Danbury Municipal Airport Danbury Municipal Airport is a public use general aviation and commercial airport located three miles (5 km) southwest of the central business district of Danbury, in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The airport opened in 1930 ...
. Connecticut's largest lake, Candlewood Lake (of which the extreme southern part is in Danbury), was created as a hydroelectric power facility in 1928 by building a dam where Wood Creek and the Rocky River meet near the
Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...
in New Milford. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Danbury's
federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for convicts who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), inmates considered dangerous (Brazil), or those s ...
was one of many sites used for the incarceration of
conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to obje ...
s. 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. On August 18–19, 1955, the Still River, which normally meandered slowly through downtown Danbury, overflowed its banks when
Hurricane Diane Hurricane Diane was the first Atlantic hurricane to cause more than an estimated $1 billion in damage (in 1955 dollars, which would be $ today), including direct costs and the loss of business and personal revenue. It formed on August 7 ...
hit the area, dropping six inches of rain on the city. This was in addition to the nine inches that fell from Hurricane Connie five days earlier. The water flooded stores, factories and homes along the river from North Street to Beaver Brook, causing $3 million in damages. Stores downtown on White Street between Main and Maple were especially hard hit. On October 13–16, another 12 inches of rain fell on Danbury, causing the worst flooding in the city's history. This time, the river damaged all bridges across it, effectively cutting the city in half for several days. Flooding was more widespread than in August, and the same downtown areas hit in August were devastated once again. The resulting damage was valued at $6 million, and two people lost their lives. The City determined the river in the downtown area had to be tamed. $4.5 million in federal and state funding were acquired as part of a greater urban renewal project to straighten, deepen, widen, and enclose the river in a concrete channel through the downtown. At the same time, roads were relocated and rebuilt, 123 major buildings were razed and 104 families were relocated. This began various efforts by the City through 1975 towards urban renewal, using another $22 million of federal funding. However, these efforts failed to reinvigorate the central business district. On February 13, 1970, brothers James and John Pardue detonated time bombs (injuring 26 people) at the police station,
Union Savings Bank Union Savings Bank, is a full-service Community bank and wealth management institution serving customers in Western Connecticut. The bank is headquartered in Danbury, Connecticut Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United S ...
and in their getaway car to cover their escape from robbing the bank at gunpoint, the culmination of a two-year crime spree that included four bank robberies and five murders. The flawed
primary mirror A primary mirror (or primary) is the principal light-gathering surface (the objective) of a reflecting telescope. Description The primary mirror of a reflecting telescope is a spherical or parabolic shaped disks of polished reflective met ...
of the
Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most ver ...
was ground and polished in Danbury by Perkin-Elmer's Danbury Optical System unit from 1979 to 1981. It was mistakenly ground to the wrong shape due to the use of a miscalibrated testing device. The mistake was not discovered until after the telescope was in orbit and began to be used. The effects of the flaw were corrected during the telescope's first servicing mission in 1993. 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. A case that would make national headlines and play out for over four years began on September 19, 2006, when eleven day laborers, who came to be known as the "Danbury 11", were arrested in Danbury. A sting operation had been set up where day laborers were lured into a van whose driver, a disguised Danbury police officer posing as a contractor, promised them work. The laborers were driven to a parking lot where, if it was determined they were in the US illegally, were arrested by agents of
ICE Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...
and the Danbury police. Yale University law students represented the men pro bono and filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city on their behalf. On March 8, 2011, it was confirmed a settlement had been reached in the case whereby Danbury agreed to pay the laborers $400,000 (Danbury's insurance carrier paid the settlement plus legal fees of close to $1,000,000, less a $100,000 deductible). The federal government agreed to pay them $250,000. As part of the settlement, the City did not admit any wrongdoing and there were no changes in the city's policies or procedures.


Hatmaking in Danbury

In 1780, what is traditionally considered to be the first hat shop in Danbury was established by
Zadoc Benedict Zadoc Benedict was a hat manufacturer who established the first hat factory on Main Street in Danbury, Connecticut in 1780. It had 3 employees, and made 18 hats weekly. Legend holds that Benedict plugged a hole in his shoe with rabbit fur, and fou ...
. (
Hatmaking Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of ...
had existed in Danbury before the Revolution.) The Benedict shop had three employees, and they made 18 hats weekly. By 1800, Danbury was producing 20,000 hats annually, more than any other city in the U.S. Due to the fur felt hat coming back into style for men and increasing mechanization in the 1850s, by 1859 hat production in Danbury had risen to 1.5 million annually. By 1887, thirty factories were producing 5 million hats per year. Around this time, fur processing was separated from hat manufacturing when the
P. Robinson Fur Cutting Company The P. Robinson Fur Cutting Company is a historic industrial building on Oil Mill Road in Danbury, Connecticut. Also known as the Oil Mill Road building, it is a large multi-section -story brick structure set on the banks of the Still River. Bui ...
(1884) on Oil Mill Road and the White Brothers' factory began operation. By 1880, workers had unionized, beginning decades of labor unrest. They struggled to achieve conditions that were more fair, going on strike; with management reacting with lockouts. Because of the scale of the industry, labor unrest and struggles over wages affected the economy of the entire town. In 1893, nineteen manufacturers locked out 4000 union hatters. In 1902, the
American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutua ...
union called for a nationwide boycott of Dietrich Loewe, a Danbury non-union hat manufacturer. The manufacturer sued the union under the
Sherman Antitrust Act The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by United States Congress, Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, i ...
for unlawfully restraining trade. In the 1908
Danbury Hatters' Case ''Loewe v. Lawlor'', 208 U.S. 274 (1908), also referred to as the Danbury Hatters' Case, is a United States Supreme Court case in United States labor law concerning the application of antitrust laws to labor unions. The Court's decision effectivel ...
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the union was liable for damages. In the 1930s and 1940s, there were a number of violent incidents during several strikes, mostly involving scab workers brought in as strikebreakers. Beginning in 1892, the industry was revolutionized when the large hat factories began to shift to manufacturing unfinished hat bodies only, and supplying them to smaller hat shops for finishing. While Danbury produced 24% of America's hats in 1904, the city supplied the industry with 75% of its hat bodies. The turn of the century was the heyday of the hatting industry in Danbury, when it became known as the "Hat City" and the "Hatting Capitol of the World". Its motto was "Danbury Crowns Them All".


Mercury poisoning

The use of
mercuric nitrate Mercury(II) nitrate is an inorganic compound with the formula Hg(NO3)2.xH2O. These colorless or white Solubility, soluble crystalline Salt (chemistry), salts are occasionally used as a reagent. It is made by treating mercury (element), mercury w ...
in the felting process poisoned many workers in the hat factories, creating a condition called erethism, also called "mad hatter disease." The condition, known locally as the "Danbury shakes", was characterized by slurred speech, tremors, stumbling, and, in extreme cases, hallucinations. The effect of mercury on the workers' health was first noted in the late 19th century. While workers in the Danbury factories lobbied for controls on mercury in the early 20th century, a government study on the health effects of mercury was not conducted until 1937. The State of Connecticut announced a ban on mercury in hatmaking in 1941. While Danbury hat factories stopped using mercury in the 1940s, the mercury waste has remained in the Still River and adjacent soils, and has been detected at high levels in the 21st century.


Industry decline

By the 1920s, the hat industry was in decline. By 1923, only six manufacturers were left in Danbury, which increased the pressure on workers. After World War II, returning GIs went hatless, a trend that accelerated through the 1950s, dooming the city's hat industry. The city's last major hat factory, owned by
Stetson Stetson is a brand of hat manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company. "Stetson" is also used as a generic trademark to refer to any campaign hat, in particular, in Scouting. John B. Stetson gained inspiration for his most famous hats when ...
, closed in 1964. The last hat was made in Danbury in 1987 when a small factory owned by Stetson closed.


Historic pictures

File:PostcardMainStFromWhiteStDanburyCT1907.jpg, Main Street looking east from White Street, 1907 File:PostcardDanburyCTNatlHatFactry1912.jpg, National Hat Factory, about 1912 File:PostcardDanburyCTViewOfTheHatFactory1911.jpg, View of a hat factory, 1911 File:Danbury CT.png, Danbury station, File:Revolutionary Sycamore, Danbury, CT - July 14, 2012.jpg, Revolutionary Sycamore


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy An economy is an area of th ...
, Danbury has a total area of , of which is land and , or 4.94%, is water. The city is located in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains on low-lying land just south of Candlewood Lake (the City includes the southern parts of the lake). It developed along the Still River, which flows generally from west to east through the city before joining the
Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...
. The city's terrain includes rolling hills and not-very-tall mountains to the west and northwest called the Western Highland. Ground elevations in the city range from 378 feet to 1,050 feet above sea level. A geologic fault known as Cameron's Line runs through Danbury.


Neighboring towns


Pollution

The hatmaking fur-removal process was based on the use of mercury nitrate. The waste caused serious
water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Wate ...
as the hat manufacturers dumped it into the Still River throughout the late 19th century and into the 1940s. This toxic product flowed into the
Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...
and Long Island Sound, affecting
water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through ...
and various fish and other organisms. Field studies conducted in the Still River basin in the 21st century have detected the continuing presence of high levels of mercury in the river sediments and nearby soils.


Climate

Danbury has a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...
( Köppen ''Dfa''), with four distinct seasons, resembling
Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since ...
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 in January to in July; on average, temperatures reaching occur on 18 and 3.1 days of the year, respectively. The average annual precipitation is approximately , which is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year; snow averages per season, although this total may vary considerably from year to year. Extremes in temperature range from on July 22, 1926, and July 15, 1995 (the highest temperature recorded in Connecticut) down to on February 9, 1934.


Demographics

It's estimated that the population of Danbury as of 2015 is 84,657. As of the 2010 census, there were 80,893 people and 29,046 households in the city, with 2.73 persons per household. 44.1% of the population spoke a language other than English at home. The population density was 1,921.4 people per square mile. There were 31,154 housing units at an average density of 740.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 68.2%
White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 25.0%
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino (of any race), 7.2%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 0.40% Native American, 6.8% Asian, less than 0.10%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...
, 7.6% from other races, and 4.5% from two or more races. 32% of the population was foreign born. Of particular note is a sizeable population of residents of Portuguese and Brazilian heritage. They are served by locally based Portuguese-language print and broadcast media. 6.7% of the population was under the age of 5, and 21.1% was under the age of 18. 11.1% of the population was 65 years of age or older. 50.9% of the population was female. The per capita income for the city was $31,411. 11.1% of the population was below the poverty line. The median gross monthly rent was $1,269. In 2015 the median income for a household in the city was approximately $66,676. 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

In 2016 Danbury's workforce was approximately 79,400 workers. 12,200 (15.4%) of them worked in goods producing industries. 67,200 (84.6%) of them worked in service providing industries which includes: trade, transportation and utilities (17,300), professional and business services (9,400), leisure and hospitality (7,300), government (10,200) and all other (23,000). In Nov. 2016, the unemployment rate for the Danbury Labor Market Area was 3.0%, compared to 3.7% for the State and 4.6% nationally. The top employers in the city in 2020 were:


Government

The chief executive officer of Danbury is the Mayor, who serves a two-year term. The current mayor is Dean Esposito (R). The Mayor is the presiding officer of the City Council, which consists of 21 members, two from each of the seven city wards, and seven at-large. The City 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 City 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 City Council consists of 14 Republicans and 7 Democrats. Danbury has six state representatives as of 2021;
Raghib Allie-Brennan Raghib Ismail Allie-Brennan (born July 20, 1991) is an American politician and former political aide serving as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 2nd district. Early life and education Allie-Brennan was born in Quee ...
D-2,
Stephen Harding Stephen Harding (french: Étienne Harding) ( 106028 March 1134) was an English-born monk and abbot, who was one of the founders of the Cistercian Order. He is honoured as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. Life There is little archival e ...
R-107, Patrick Callahan R-108,
David Arconti David Arconti (born September 22, 1986) is an American politician who has served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 109th district since 2013. References 1986 births Living people Politicians from Danbury, Connecticut ...
D-109,
Bob Godfrey Roland Frederick Godfrey MBE (27 May 1921 – 21 February 2013),Kenneth Gucker Ken Gucker is an American Democratic Party politician formerly serving as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 138th district, which included part of the city of Danbury, as well as parts of the towns of New Fairfield a ...
D-138. There is one state senator,
Julie Kushner Julie Kushner (born c. 1952) is an American politician and retired trade unionist. She worked for United Auto Workers, and was elected to the Connecticut State Senate in 2018. Early life and family Julie Kushner's parents were Sheldon and Marci ...
D-24. Danbury is represented in the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washi ...
by U.S. Rep.
Jahana Hayes Jahana Hayes (née Flemming: born March 8, 1973) is an American educator and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. The district, once represented by U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, comprises much of the state's northwestern po ...
(D). Danbury's Fiscal Year 2020–2021 mill rate is 27.60.


Infrastructure


Education


Public schools

Danbury Public Schools operates most public schools, with Danbury High School belonging to the district. The other public high school, Henry Abbott Technical High School, is within the Connecticut Technical High School System. Each high school is grades 9 through 12. An alternative school by the name of Alternative Center for Excellence is housed off-campus, and its graduates receive Danbury High School diplomas upon completion of their studies. Danbury also has 3 public middle schools for grades 6 through 8: Broadview Middle School, Rogers Park Middle School and WestSide Middle School Academy. There are 13 elementary schools in Danbury. These schools are 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 schools in Danbury reside within the administration of the
Diocese of Bridgeport The Diocese of Bridgeport is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church located in the southwestern part of the state of Connecticut, and its boundaries are the same as that of Fairfield County, Connecticut. Ther ...
and include: * 1 high school: Immaculate High School (9–12) * 3 elementary schools: St Peter-Sacred Heart School (Pre-K–8), St. Gregory the Great School (Pre-K–8), an
St. Joseph School
(Pre-K–8) Other parochial schools in Danbury are: * Colonial Hills Christian Academy * Immanuel Lutheran School


Private schools

* Hudson Country Montessori School * New England Country Day School *
Wooster School Wooster School is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory school (grades 5 through 12) in Danbury, Connecticut. It is a member of the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools. Overview The Wooster School motto is ''Ex Quoque Potestate ...


Post-secondary schools

Danbury is home to Western Connecticut State University and a campus of
Naugatuck Valley Community College Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC) is a public community college in Waterbury, Connecticut. It is one of the 13 colleges in the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities system. NVCC grants a variety of associate degrees and certificates. ...
.


Danbury Federal Correctional Institution

Danbury is the site of a low-security men's and women's prison, the Danbury Federal Correctional Institution, located near the border with New Fairfield. Built in the 1940s to house men, the facility was converted to a women's prison in 1994 to address a shortage of beds for low-security female inmates in other facilities. However, overcrowding at federal facilities for low-security males prompted a reconversion to a male prison, beginning in 2013, and relocation of the female inmates from the low-security Pembroke Road facility to other locations. As of 2016, an adjacent satellite camp houses up to 193 women. A new $25 million women's facility was completed and began accepting female inmates in December 2016.


Libraries

The Danbury Public Library was established in 1869. The Long Ridge Library is a small library occupying an old schoolhouse on Long Ridge Road in Danbury. It was founded in 1916.


Places of worship

Danbury is home to numerous churches, two synagogues, and two mosques.


Mass media

Danbury is in the
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
TV market and receives its TV stations. Some TV stations in the Hartford-New Haven are also available to Danbury viewers. * '' The News-Times'' – a daily newspaper owned by
Hearst Communications Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, televi ...
. *''Tribuna Newspaper'' – a biweekly, bilingual (Portuguese/English) news publication. *''HamletHub Danbury'' – a local news publication. * WFAR-FM, 93.3 MHz, low-power – religious (Christian) and ethnic/Portuguese-language programming. * WLAD-AM, 800 kHz, 1000 watts (daytime), 287 watts (nighttime) – news/talk format, owned by the Berkshire Broadcasting Corporation. * WDAQ-FM 98.3 MHz, 1300 watts – hot adult contemporary format, owned by the Berkshire Broadcasting Corporation. * WDAQ-HD2 FM, 103.7 MHz – alternative rock format, owned by the Berkshire Broadcasting Corporation. * WDAQ-HD3 FM, 107.3 MHz – new country music, owned by the Berkshire Broadcasting Corporation. * WDAQ-HD4 FM, 94.5 MHz – "The Hawk" – classic rock format, owned by the Berkshire Broadcasting Corporation. * WAXB, 850 kHz AM / 94.5 MHz FM, 2500 watts (daytime only) – Spanish-language adult hits, owned by the Berkshire Broadcasting Corporation. * WXCI-FM, 91.7 MHz, 3000 watts – non-profit, college radio station, owned by Western Connecticut State University and operated by past and present students; receives funding from the Western Connecticut State University Student Government Association. * WRKI-FM, 95.1 MHz, 50000 watts – classic rock music, owned by
Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...
; debuted on December 24, 1976. * WDBY-FM, 105.5 MHz ("Kicks 105.5") – contemporary country music, owned by
Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...
. * WINE-AM, 940 kHz –
CBS Sports Radio CBS Sports Radio is a sports radio network that debuted with hourly sports news updates on September 4, 2012, and with 24/7 programming on January 2, 2013. CBS Sports Radio is owned by Paramount Global and distributed by Westwood One. Programmin ...
, owned by
Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...
.


Public utilities

The Public Utilities Division operates and maintains the City of Danbury's Water Division, water utility infrastructure, sanitary sewer infrastructure, which includes several large water supply dams, a closed landfill,
landfill gas Landfill gas is a mix of different gases created by the action of microorganisms within a landfill as they decompose organic waste, including for example, food waste and paper waste. Landfill gas is approximately forty to sixty percent methane ...
collection system, and administer programs for recycling and disposal of solid waste. The Division oversees a Water Pollution Control Plant, operated by Veolia Water North America, and a public yard waste management processing center, located on Plumtrees Road, in accordance with an agreement between the City of Danbury and Total Landscaping and Tree Service. The sewer fund makes up 80 percent of Danbury's 2019–2020 Adopted Capital Projects Budget, accounting for $103 million of the $127 million budget to maintain the plant. In October 2020, the city renamed its water pollution control plant the
John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant The John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant is a sewage treatment plant in Danbury, Connecticut, named after the British-American comedian and political satirist John Oliver. The plant was completely renovated in response to a 2008 order from state an ...
after
John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...
, the host of the late-night comedy program '' Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' jokingly insulted the city. Oliver attended the unveiling ceremony in person as a condition of Mayor Boughton.


Transportation


Highways

Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 7 are the main highways in the city. I-84 runs west to east from the lower
Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...
region of New York to
Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 20 ...
and
Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since ...
. US 7 runs south to north from Norwalk (connecting to
I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadi ...
) 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). Danbury has 242 miles of streets.


Buses

Local bus service is provided by
Housatonic Area Regional Transit Housatonic Area Regional Transit, known popularly as HARTransit (formerly as HART), is the provider of public transportation for Danbury, Connecticut and surrounding communities. HARTransit was founded in 1972 as the Danbury-Bethel Transit Distr ...
(HART), and connects the entire Greater Danbury region as well as various train stations along the
Harlem Line The Metro-North Railroad Harlem Line, originally chartered as the New York and Harlem Railroad, is an commuter rail line running north from New York City to Wassaic, in eastern Dutchess County. The lower from Grand Central Terminal to Southe ...
in Putnam County and
Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...
. A shuttle also operates between Downtown Danbury and Norwalk.


Railroad

Danbury is the terminus of the Danbury branch line of the
MTA Metro-North Railroad Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connecticut De ...
which begins in Norwalk. The line was first built by the
Danbury and Norwalk Railroad The Danbury and Norwalk Railroad, chartered in 1835 as the Fairfield County Railroad, was an independent American railroad that operated between the cities of Danbury and Norwalk, Connecticut from 1852 until its absorption by the Housatonic Railr ...
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 The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and th ...
took over the New Haven, the Maybrook line was shut down when a fire on the
Poughkeepsie Bridge The Walkway over the Hudson (also known as the Poughkeepsie Bridge, Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge, Poughkeepsie–Highland Railroad Bridge, and High Bridge) is a steel cantilever bridge spanning the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie, New York ...
made the line unusable. Today, the historic station is part of the Danbury Railway Museum. The
Providence and Worcester Railroad The Providence and Worcester Railroad is a Class II railroad operating of tracks in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, as well as New York via trackage rights. The company was founded in 1844 to build a railroad between Providence ...
, along with the
Housatonic Railroad The Housatonic Railroad ( ) is a Class III railroad operating in southwestern New England and eastern New York. It was chartered in 1983 to operate a short section of ex-New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in northwestern Connecticut, and ...
provide local rail freight service in Danbury. Frequent direct rail access to New York City is also available from
Brewster station Brewster station is a commuter rail stop on the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line, located in Brewster, New York. A sizable amount of the station's ridership comes from across the Connecticut state line given the quicker trips, shorter headways ...
along Metro-North's
Harlem Line The Metro-North Railroad Harlem Line, originally chartered as the New York and Harlem Railroad, is an commuter rail line running north from New York City to Wassaic, in eastern Dutchess County. The lower from Grand Central Terminal to Southe ...
. The station is located just over the New York state line, roughly 8 miles from downtown. Plans are also being made to connect Danbury station to the Harlem Line, utilizing existing Maybrook Line track which is owned by the MTA. This plan has been dubbed the "Fast track to NYC", as it will provide more frequent access between Danbury and
Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern termi ...
. In June 2022, a $2 million federal grant was approved to study the environmental impacts of the project.


Airports

Danbury is within reasonable distance of 11 airports: four general aviation, two regional, five international. The city is also the location of
Danbury Municipal Airport Danbury Municipal Airport is a public use general aviation and commercial airport located three miles (5 km) southwest of the central business district of Danbury, in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The airport opened in 1930 ...
( DXR).


Sites of interest


Hiking trails

* Bear Mountain Reservation * The Old Quarry Nature Center has two short educational trails on * Tarrywile Mansion and Park has of trails and several ponds on , as well as a Victorian mansion and gardens. The
Ives Trail The Ives Trail and Greenway is a hiking trail in the Housatonic Valley Region (also known as Greater Danbury). Its route connects Ridgefield, Danbury, Bethel and Redding. The Ives Trail is named after Charles Ives, a Danbury-born American modern ...
runs through the park. * The
Ives Trail The Ives Trail and Greenway is a hiking trail in the Housatonic Valley Region (also known as Greater Danbury). Its route connects Ridgefield, Danbury, Bethel and Redding. The Ives Trail is named after Charles Ives, a Danbury-born American modern ...
is a 20-mile stretch of trail that runs from Bennett's Pond in Ridgefield through Danbury to Redding. The Charles Ives House and Hearthstone Castle are located along this trail.


Parks

* Bear Mountain Park * Blind Brook Park * Candlewood Town Park * Danbury Dog Park at
Margerie Lake Reservoir Margerie Lake Reservoir is a 244 acre lake in New Fairfield, Connecticut. It is a source of drinking water for the Danbury Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City ...
* Danbury Dog Park at Miry Brook * Elmwood Park * Farrington Woods * Hatters Park * Highland Playground * Joseph Sauer Memorial Park * Kennedy Park * Lake Kenosia Park * Lions Club Children's Park on Rowan Street * Memorial Park * Old Quarry Nature Center * Richter Park * Rogers Park * Rogers Park Playground * Stephen A. Kaplanis Field * Still River Greenway * Tarrywile Park * Tom West Park


Museums

* Danbury Museum and Historical Society * Danbury Railway Museum


Other

* The Connecticut 9/11 Memorial by sculptor Henry Richardson is located in Danbury in Elmwood Park. * The Danbury Fair Mall was built on the old fairgrounds in 1986. * Danbury is also home to an Army Reserve
Special Operations Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...
unit, the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion. * Danbury Hospital is a 456-bed hospital, serving patients in Fairfield County, Connecticut and Putnam County, New York. The hospital is the home of the new Praxair Regional Heart and Vascular center, providing state of the art
cardiovascular The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...
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". * The Summit at Danbury is one of the largest office complexes in Connecticut * Danbury Ice Arena * The
John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant The John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant is a sewage treatment plant in Danbury, Connecticut, named after the British-American comedian and political satirist John Oliver. The plant was completely renovated in response to a 2008 order from state an ...


National Register of Historic Places


Sports


Ice hockey

The
United Hockey League The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor league, minor professional ice hockey league, with teams ...
(UHL) expanded to Danbury in 2004. The
Danbury Trashers The Danbury Trashers were a United Hockey League (UHL) professional ice hockey team located in Danbury, Connecticut, first established in 2004 as an expansion team. The team was named for its owner's business in waste management; James Galante p ...
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 Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...
) and Scott Stirling (son of former
New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...
coach Steve Stirling). Scott's older brother, Todd, coached the Trashers in the 2004–2005 season. The team folded in 2006 after its owner, coach and management were charged (and later convicted) of several charges of wire fraud and racketeering. On December 27, 2009, Danbury was named the first city to officially have a team in the newly formed Federal Hockey League (FHL). The team was named the
Danbury Whalers The Danbury Whalers were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the Federal Hockey League that began play in the 2010–11 season. Based in Danbury, Connecticut, the Whalers played at the Danbury Ice Arena, located in CityCenter Danbury ...
, bringing back the name "Whalers" to Connecticut for the first time since 1997 when the
Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 until 1978–79 WHA season, 1979, and in the ...
of the WHA/NHL moved to North Carolina and became the
Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...
. At the end of the 2014–2015 season, the Danbury Ice Arena evicted the Danbury Whalers. However, a new FHL Danbury team called the Danbury Titans was approved for the 2015–2016 season, owned by local car dealership owner Bruce Bennett. The Titans folded after two seasons. The Danbury Ice Arena was sold and put under new management in 2019. The arena then added a third FPHL franchise called the Danbury Hat Tricks, a Tier III junior team called the
Danbury Colonials The Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks are a USA Hockey-sanctioned junior ice hockey organization based in Danbury, Connecticut. The organization has junior teams in the Tier II North American Hockey League and the Tier III North American 3 Hockey Leag ...
, and the relocation of the
Premier Hockey Federation The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), is a women's professional ice hockey league located in the United States and Canada. The league was established in 2015 with four league-owned teams and h ...
's Connecticut Whale. In 2020, the arena added a Tier II junior team called the
Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks The Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks are a USA Hockey-sanctioned junior ice hockey organization based in Danbury, Connecticut. The organization has junior teams in the Tier II North American Hockey League and the Tier III North American 3 Hockey League, ...
and the Tier III team also rebranded to the same name.


Other sports

The
Danbury Westerners The Danbury Westerners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Danbury, Connecticut. The team, a member of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, plays their home games at Rogers Park. The team played its inaugural season in 1995 Fi ...
, a member of the
New England Collegiate Baseball League The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game schedule during June ...
, play their home games at Rogers Park in Danbury. AC Connecticut is a soccer team based in the Danbury suburb of Newtown. The team plays in the Northeast Division of the
USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league sy ...
, the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. Danbury High School carries a strong athletic tradition in wrestling, boys and girls track and field, boys cross country, baseball, tennis, basketball, and football. The wrestling, boys cross country, and boys track teams have all numerous state titles and New England championships. All three programs are considered to be nationally ranked annually. Western Connecticut State University is a member of the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...
Division III, the
Eastern College Athletic Conference The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports (13 men's and 13 women's). It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location fro ...
, and the Little East Conference. The university fields teams in baseball, basketball, lacrosse, football, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball. WestConn also fields several nationally competitive club sports on campus including Men's Rugby, Women's Rugby, Dance Team, Cheerleading, and Men's Hockey. 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. Their home ground is Broadview Middle School. The Western Connecticut Militia is a semi-professional football team that played in the New England Football League from 2011 to 2016, winning the league championship the last year. The team played its home games in Danbury during that period. After taking 2017 off, the team joined
Major League Football Major League Football (MLFB) is a proposed professional American football minor league consisting of teams that are all league-owned and Major League Football, Inc., is a publicly traded company. MLFB will operate on a strict budget, well und ...
for the 2018 season, playing its home games in
New Fairfield, CT New Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 13,579 at the 2020 census. New Fairfield is one of five towns that surround Candlewood Lake, the largest lake in Connecticut. The town is located no ...
. Danbury is home to Teixeira MMA & Fitness, a Mixed Martial Arts gym owned and operated by former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Glover Teixeira and his wife Ingrid. In addition to Glover Teixeira, the gym is also home to reigning UFC Middleweight champion Alex Peirera.


Notable people

*
Renata Adler Renata Adler (born October 19, 1938) is an American author, journalist, and film critic. Adler was a staff writer-reporter for ''The New Yorker'', and in 1968–69, she served as chief film critic for ''The New York Times''. She is also a write ...
, author, journalist and film critic *
Willard H. Allen Willard Harry Allen (January 19, 1893 – February 25, 1957) was an American poultry scientist who served as New Jersey secretary of agriculture from 1938 to 1956. Life and career Allen was born in Danbury, Connecticut, and graduated from ...
(1893–1957), New Jersey secretary of agriculture *
Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to Spiritual (music), spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throu ...
(1897–1993), singer * James Montgomery Bailey, 19th century ''Danbury News'' editor * Matt Barnes, professional baseball player *
Zadoc Benedict Zadoc Benedict was a hat manufacturer who established the first hat factory on Main Street in Danbury, Connecticut in 1780. It had 3 employees, and made 18 hats weekly. Legend holds that Benedict plugged a hole in his shoe with rabbit fur, and fou ...
, the first hat maker of Danbury * Jonathan Brandis (1976–2003), actor *
Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his c ...
(1930–2021), co-founder, Subway sandwich restaurants *
Austin Calitro Austin Calitro (born January 10, 1994) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Villanova. College career Calitro was selected to the All-CAA Football first-team. He also led Villanova in total ta ...
, professional football player * Ray Cappo, singer * Neil Cavuto, television anchor * Frank Conniff (1914–1971),
1956 Pulitzer Prize The following are the Pulitzer Prizes for 1956. Journalism awards *Public Service: ** ''Watsonville Register-Pajaronian'' for courageous exposure of corruption in public office, which led to the resignation of a district attorney and the convict ...
–winning journalist *
Mackenzie Fierceton Mackenzie Fierceton (born Mackenzie Terrell on August 9, 1997; later Mackenzie Morrison,) is an American activist and graduate student currently studying at Oxford University. Raised in Chesterfield, Missouri, a West County suburb of St. Louis, ...
, activist * Ken Green, professional golfer *
Lee Hartell Lee Ross Hartell (August 23, 1923 – August 27, 1951) was a soldier in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions on August 27, 1951 during the Battle of Bloody Ridge. He joined the Army fr ...
,
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor ...
recipient * Charles Ives (1874–1954), composer * Joe Lahoud, professional baseball player * Steven Kaplan, American economist and professor *
Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one o ...
, singer-songwriter * Rose Wilder Lane, author, writer, daughter of
Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, mostly known for the ''Little House on the Prairie'' series of children's books, published between 1932 and 1943, which were based on her childhood ...
* Jimmy Monaghan, Irish musician and former boxer * Jerry Nadeau, professional auto racing driver *
Steven Novella Steven Paul Novella (born July 29, 1964) is an American clinical neurologist and associate professor at Yale University School of Medicine. Novella is best known for his involvement in the skeptical movement as a host of '' The Skeptics' Guid ...
, neurologist and noted
skeptic Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then th ...
*
Laura Nyro Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums '' Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (196 ...
(1947–1997), musician, songwriter, bandleader, singer * Elizabeth Peyton, painter *
Chet Powers Chester William Powers, Jr. (October 7, 1937 – November 16, 1994) was an American singer-songwriter, and under the stage names Dino Valenti or Dino Valente, one of the lead singers of the rock group Quicksilver Messenger Service. As a songwri ...
a.k.a. Dino Valenti (1937–1994), musician and songwriter *
George Radachowsky George Joseph Radachowsky Jr. (born September 7, 1962) is a former American football defensive back who played five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Indianapolis Colts and New York Jets. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams ...
, professional football player *
William R. Ratchford William Richard Ratchford (May 24, 1934 – January 2, 2011) was an American politician from Connecticut. He served six terms in the Connecticut House of Representatives, including two as speaker, and three terms in the United States House of Rep ...
, three term U.S. Congressman * Allen Ritter, music producer *
Delvin Rodríguez Delvin Antonio Rodríguez (born May 4, 1980) is a Dominican professional boxer who has challenged three times for a world title (once at welterweight and twice at light middleweight). Professional career Welterweight Delvin defeated Shamone Al ...
, professional boxer * Neil Rudenstine, past president of
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
*
Chauncey Foster Ryder Chauncey Foster Ryder (29 February 1868 – 18 May 1949) was an early 20th century American Postimpressionist landscape painter known for a green-gray palette termed 'Ryder green'. Education and personal life Ryder was born in 1868 in Danbury, Co ...
, Postimpressionist painter * Trevor Siemian, professional football player * Christian Siriano, fashion designer *
Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to ...
, panelist on
VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...
's Celebrity Fit Club * Lee Smith, Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Relief Pitcher *
Ronnie Spector Veronica Yvette Greenfield (; August 10, 1943 – January 12, 2022) was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group The Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original "bad girl of rock and roll". Ronnie formed the ...
, singer * Glover Teixeira, Professional MMA Fighter in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
(UFC) and former champion of the Light heavyweight (MMA) division. *
Roy M. Terry Roy M. Terry (July 15, 1915 – May 12, 1988) was Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Terry later moved to Danbury, Connecticut and was an ordained Methodist pastor. He was a graduate of Syracuse Unive ...
, Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Air Force *
John Toland John Toland (30 November 167011 March 1722) was an Irish rationalist philosopher and freethinker, and occasional satirist, who wrote numerous books and pamphlets on political philosophy and philosophy of religion, which are early expressions ...
(1912-2004), 1971 Pulitzer Prize-winning historian * TJR (birth name Thomas Joseph Rozdilsky), musician * John Hubbard Tweedy, U.S. Congressional Delegate from the
Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...
*
Samuel Tweedy Samuel Tweedy (March 8, 1776 – July 1, 1868) was a United States representative from Connecticut. Born at Nine Partners, New York in 1776, he later moved to Danbury, Connecticut. He was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives i ...
(1776–1868), U.S. Representative from Connecticut * Jenna von Oÿ, actress *
William A. Whittlesey William Augustus Whittlesey (July 14, 1796 – November 6, 1866) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1849 to 1851. He was the nephew of Elisha Whittlesey. Biography Born in Danbur ...
, former U.S. Congressman * Zalmon Wildman (1775–1835), U.S. Representative from Connecticut


Cultural references

* Danbury's sewage plant has been named the "John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant" in honor of comedian
John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...
after a lighthearted social media exchange between Oliver and mayor Mark Boughton following Oliver's satirical criticism of Danbury on '' Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' in August 2020. Oliver donated $55,000 to local charities in exchange for the renaming. In October 2020, Oliver visited Danbury for the official unveiling of the renamed plant. * In Robert Lawson's children's novel '' Rabbit Hill'', the story's anthropomorphic rabbit characters preserve by oral tradition the memory of Danbury being burned by the British during the American War of Independence and later of the town's young men going off to fight in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...
and many of them not coming back.


See also

*
CityCenter Danbury CityCenter Danbury is a redevelopment project located in the downtown core of Danbury, Connecticut. The special taxing district was formed by Main Street's merchants in the late 1980s with the goal of bringing more people and businesses into the D ...
, a redevelopment project in the city's downtown * Greater Danbury, the metropolitan area centered on the city


References


External links

* {{authority control Cities in Connecticut Cities in Fairfield County, Connecticut Cities in the New York metropolitan area Hatmaking Populated places established in 1685