Connecticut Water Trails Association
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Connecticut Water Trails Association |
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Connecticut Water Trails Program History Of Connecticut's Water Trails History of Mills In Connecticut
Danbury Mills
In 1780, the first hat factory in Danbury was established by Zadoc Benedict, employing three workers and producing 18 hats a week. Danbury was known as "The Hat City" or the "Hatting Capital of the World" during the early 20th Century.
As early as the 1790s, dams were constructed
for mill sites, providing the opportunity for water extraction and the
development of industries along its shores. The Hat Manufacturing
industry was prominent along the river, and the Industrial Revolution of
the 1800s made Danbury the “hatting capital of the world”. Hat
manufacturing requires a large extractive use of water, which results in
the discharge of the pollutant-tainted process water to a receiving
stream. The
Still
River became the “sewer” for hat and
other industries that grew up along the river. The discharges were toxic
to aquatic life, in addition to turning the river different colors.
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