Naugatuck, Connecticut

Naugatuck (/ˈnɔːɡətʌk/; NAW-gə-tuhk) 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.

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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

On August 19, 1955, the Naugatuck River flooded following more than 10 inches (250 mm) of rain from Hurricane Diane, causing widespread destruction that reshaped the borough’s riverfront.

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 16.5 square miles (43 km2), of which 16.4 square miles (42 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2), or 0.36%, is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, there were 31,519 people and 12,432 households residing in the borough, and 13,239 housing units. The population density was 1,933.8 inhabitants per square mile (746.6/km2). There were 13,239 housing units at an average density of 812.2 per square mile (313.6/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 71.4% White, 7.8% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 7.4% from some other race, and 10.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 15.5% of the population.

Of the 12,432 households, 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% were married couple households, 8.3% were cohabiting couple households, 18.2% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, and 28.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 26.9% of households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

In 2020, about 21.1% of residents were under the age of 18, approximately 62.8% were between 18 and 64, and 16.1% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 40.2 years. Males made up about 48.7% of the population and females 51.3%. According to 2016–2020 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, the median household income in Naugatuck was $77,967, the median family income was $91,089, and the mean household income was $91,071.

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

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.

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.
• Naugatuck Center Historic District, roughly bounded by Fairview Avenue, Hillside Avenue, Terrace Avenue, Water Street, and Pleasant View Street; listed July 30, 1999.
• Salem School (124 Meadow Street); listed November 3, 1983.
• United States Post Office–Naugatuck Main (Church and Cedar Streets.); listed January 21, 1986.

Notable people

• Adrian (Adrian Adolph Greenberg), costume designer; born in Naugatuck
• Michael Bergin, model and actor; raised in Naugatuck and NHS graduate
• Seth Bingham, organist and composer; spent part of his youth in Naugatuck
• Emily Sophie Brown, among the first women elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives; longtime Naugatuck resident
• 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.
• Ray Foley, Major League Baseball catcher (New York Giants, 1928); born in Naugatuck
• Charles Goodyear, pioneered vulcanization of rubber; lived in Naugatuck as a young man
• Mohamed Hrezi, distance runner; 2016 Olympic marathoner
• William Kennedy (1854–1918), state senator and U.S. representative
• 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).
• Spec Shea, Major League Baseball pitcher; born in Naugatuck and nicknamed “The Naugatuck Nugget”

Gallery

• Goodyear Metallic Rubber Shoe Company in downtown Naugatuck (c.1890)
• Salem School, from a 1905 postcard
• Naugatuck High School (c.1910), 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