Danbury

Danbury (dăn'ber"ē, –burē) [key], city (1990 pop. 65,585), Fairfield co., SW Conn.; settled 1685, inc. as a city 1889. Once home to a famous hat industry dating from 1780, this growing, diverse residential city now makes electronic equipment, plastics, machinery, and furniture. A colonial military depot, it was destroyed in Gen. William Tryon's 1777 raid, which led to the death of David Wooster, who is buried here. The noted Danbury Hatters' Case (1902) resulted in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling (1908) prohibiting boycotts by labor unions. In the city are Western Connecticut State Univ. and a federal prison. Several 18th-century houses are included in the Scott-Fanton Museum, and there are sites associated with the composer Charles Ives, a native. Danbury's famous state fair was held for 112 years until 1981; the fairgrounds now house a huge mall. Candlewood Lake lies to the northeast.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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