Naugatuck, Connecticut

Naugatuck (Template:IPAc-en; Template:Respell) is a consolidated borough and town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town, part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, had a population of 31,519 as of the 2020 census.<ref name="Census 2020">Template:Cite web</ref>

The town spans both sides of the Naugatuck River just south of Waterbury and includes the communities of Union City on the east side of the river, Straitsville on the southeast (along Route 63), and Millville on the west (along Rubber Avenue).

History

Settlement began as early as 1702. Samuel Hickox (1669–1713), credited as Naugatuck’s first settler, established a fulling mill on Fulling Mill Brook in 1709. The locality was known as Judds Meadow until 1752, when it was renamed Salem Bridge.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1844, parts of Waterbury, Bethany, and Oxford incorporated as the town of Naugatuck. The Borough of Naugatuck was established in 1893 and became coextensive with the town in 1895.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As the Industrial Revolution accelerated, Naugatuck developed a diverse manufacturing base and became a center of the rubber industry. In 1892, nine firms consolidated to form the United States Rubber Company (later Uniroyal Inc.), organized in Naugatuck, which for decades kept major operations in the borough.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1936, U.S. Rubber introduced Naugahyde, a vinyl-coated fabric invented by company chemists in Naugatuck; the material was manufactured locally for many years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Multiple image The United States Rubber Company also created the Naugatuck Chemical Company in the early 20th century; the business later became Uniroyal Chemical and relocated major operations to Middlebury, Connecticut in the 1970s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Risdon Manufacturing Company, established in Naugatuck in the early 1900s, became a leading maker of metal closures and cosmetic packaging and later operated regionally under Crown Risdon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the 1960s, Harold Barber founded H. Barber and Sons, which designs and builds beach-cleaning equipment and has claimed to be the largest such business in the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Company, later a division of the Hershey Foods Corporation producing Almond Joy and Mounds, operated in Naugatuck for much of the 20th century; the factory closed in 2007.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On August 19, 1955, the Naugatuck River flooded following more than Template:Convert of rain from Hurricane Diane, causing widespread destruction that reshaped the borough’s riverfront.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Naugatuck High School has a long-standing football rivalry with Ansonia. The teams have met on Thanksgiving morning since 1900, with Ansonia holding the series lead. Naugatuck High School’s mascot is the greyhound, and its colors are garnet and gray.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert, or 0.36%, is water.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019" />

Demographics

Template:Update As of the census<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 30,989 people, 11,829 households, and 8,292 families residing in the borough. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 12,341 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the borough was 91.76% White, 2.85% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 1.68% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.58% from other races, and 1.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.47% of the population.

Of the 11,829 households, 36.3% had children under 18, 53.3% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. About 24.9% of households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.13.

The population was 26.9% under 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% 65 or older; the median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males; for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.

The median household income was $51,247, and the median family income was $59,286. Males had a median income of $42,103 versus $29,971 for females. The per capita income was $22,757. About 0.9% of families and 1.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under 18 and 6.0% of those 65 or older.

Government

Naugatuck is the only consolidated town and borough in Connecticut. Every other borough in the state is a special-services district located within a town, the basic unit of Connecticut local government. Naugatuck has both a town clerk and a borough clerk managing official records, similar to cities that have separate town and city clerks.

As with most other Connecticut municipalities, Naugatuck elects its officials in November of odd-numbered years.

Politics

Voter registration and party enrollment as of October 31, 2024<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Party		Active voters	Inactive voters	Total voters	Percentage
Template:Party color cell	Democratic	5,513	546	6,059	29.27%
Template:Party color cell	Republican	4,755	352	5,107	24.67%
Template:Party color cell	Unaffiliated	8,216	1,014	9,230	44.59%
Template:Party color cell	Minor parties	281	23	304	1.47%
Total		18,765	1,935	20,700	100%

Notes: 1912 – Third-party total 785 comprised Progressive 274, Socialist 456, and other 55. · 1872 – Votes for Horace Greeley (Liberal Republican), also endorsed by Democrats, are recorded under Liberal Republican. · 1860 – “Third-party” votes were for the Southern Democratic ticket. Template:Collapse bottom

Education

Naugatuck has four public elementary schools (grades K–4), two public intermediate schools (grades 5–6), one public middle school (grades 7–8), and Naugatuck High School (grades 9–12). The high school’s total enrollment is 1,267.

In 2013, an $81 million renovation of the high school began and was completed by fall 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Transportation

The town is served by Naugatuck station on the Waterbury Branch of the New Haven Line. Principal highways include Connecticut Route 63 (to New Haven), Route 68 (to Durham), and the Route 8 expressway (to Waterbury, Derby, Torrington, and Bridgeport).

National Register of Historic Places

• Bronson B. Tuttle House (380 Church Street), an 1879 Queen Anne–style residence that now houses the Naugatuck History Museum; listed on the National Register on November 29, 1990.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Naugatuck Center Historic District, roughly bounded by Fairview Avenue, Hillside Avenue, Terrace Avenue, Water Street, and Pleasant View Street; listed July 30, 1999.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Salem School (124 Meadow Street); listed November 3, 1983.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• United States Post Office–Naugatuck Main (Church and Cedar Streets.); listed January 21, 1986.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable people

• Adrian (Adrian Adolph Greenberg), costume designer; born in Naugatuck<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
• Michael Bergin, model and actor; raised in Naugatuck and NHS graduate<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Seth Bingham, organist and composer; spent part of his youth in Naugatuck<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Emily Sophie Brown, among the first women elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives; longtime Naugatuck resident<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Harry Cross (1881–1946), sportswriter for The New York Times and the New York Herald Tribune; began his career at the Waterbury American; mentioned among notable Naugatuck students in a borough history.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Ray Foley, Major League Baseball catcher (New York Giants, 1928); born in Naugatuck<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Charles Goodyear, pioneered vulcanization of rubber; lived in Naugatuck as a young man<ref>Template:Cite book

</ref>

• Mohamed Hrezi, distance runner; 2016 Olympic marathoner<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• William Kennedy (1854–1918), state senator and U.S. representative<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Ronald A. Sarasin (1934–2023), U.S. Representative for Connecticut’s 5th district (1973–1979) and 1978 Republican nominee for governor; later president/CEO of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society; graduated from Naugatuck High School (Class of 1952).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Spec Shea, Major League Baseball pitcher; born in Naugatuck and nicknamed “The Naugatuck Nugget”<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Gallery

• Goodyear Metallic Rubber Shoe Company in downtown Naugatuck (Template:Circa)
  Goodyear Metallic Rubber Shoe Company in downtown Naugatuck (Template:Circa)
• 
  Salem School, from a 1905 postcard
• 
  Naugatuck High School (Template:Circa), designed by McKim, Mead & White; now Hillside Intermediate School
• 
  Whittemore Library, designed by McKim, Mead & White
• 
  Naugatuck Metro-North Railroad station on the Waterbury Branch
• 
  Town history sign on the Naugatuck Green

See also

• Gunntown Cemetery
• Hop Brook Lake
• Laurel Park Incorporated
• Naugatuck State Forest
• St. Hedwig Parish, Union City

External links

• Template:Official website
• Template:Official website
• Template:Official website
• Template:Official website