Revolutionary War in Danbury 1776
In the latter part of 1776, the commissioners of the Continental army chose Danbury for a place of deposit for military stores. A large quantity having been collected, New York Governor Tryon, with a detachment of 2,000 men, sailed to Compo Point in Fairfield, and proceeded directly to Danbury, to destroy the Continental stores. There were a small number of Continental troops from the town as the enemy approached. The enemy entered the town on Saturday the 26th of April, 1777, at about three o'clock in the afternoon. The enemy, fearful that their retreat might be cut off, rallied early in the morning of the 27th, set fire to several stores and buildings, and immediately marched out of town.
"Nineteen dwelling houses, the meeting house of the New Danbury society, and twenty-two stores and barns, with all their contents were consumed. The quantity of continental stores which were consumed cannot now be accurately ascertained: accounts vary considerably. From the best information which can be obtained, there were about 3,000 barrels of pork, more than 1,000 barrels of flour, several hundred barrels of beef, 1,600 tents, 2,000 bushels of grain, besides many other valuable articles, such as rum, rice, army carriages, etc."
Colonel Cook appears to have been in the command at Danbury, at the time it was burnt. Receiving some notice of the landing or approach of the enemy, he immediately dispatched a messenger by the name of Lamber Lockwood, with a letter to Gen. Silliman, informing him that there was no ammunition in the place, and requesting orders. The messenger, before he was aware of it, came up with the British troops in the vicinity of Redding church, about 8 miles below Danbury; he attempted to flee, but was fired upon, wounded, and taken prisoner.
Three of four men in or near Capt. Starr's house, which was situated on the west side of the street, about 40 rods above the present court house, had the temerity to fire upon their bodies into the house, and set it on fire. The present Episcopal church was filled up to the galleries with barrels of pork and flour; these were rolled out into the street by the enemy and burnt. It is said that it was over one's shoes in the street near by, with pork fat, after the conflagration.
Major General Wooster, who was mortally wounded at Ridgefield, in an action with the enemy after they had left Danbury, was brought to Danbury, where he expired.
Kohanza Disaster
Kohanza Disaster
Kohanza Disaster
Because of the hatting industry, Danbury built many dams and reservoirs to provide the water needed to make hats. The first water system was the Kohanza Reservoir, built in 1860. It provided clean, clear water to Danbury. It held 40 million gallons of water.
The Kohanza Reservoir froze on January 31, 1869. This frozen river of water traveled down to Danbury and caused major damage to many homes and farms. In only a half an hour, eleven people died and homes, bridges, and factories were destroyed. The big blocks of ice uprooted trees and moved big boulders.
People described the noise of the frozen ice as sounding like a rumbling train moving over the tracks. The bridges on Main, North, and White streets were destroyed. Many other bridges were damaged. The Kohanza Disaster caused over $100,000 worth of damage to properties and homes--more than $2.2 million in 2023 dollars.
1955 Floods
Kohanza Disaster
Kohanza Disaster
In August and October of 1955, Danbury was hit by Hurricanes Connie and Diane and deluged with rain. So much rain, that the Still River and many small streams flooded. A large part of the downtown area was destroyed by all the water.
Downtown Danbury was declared a disaster area, so the federal government sent money to rebuild the city. The plan called for many changes to Danbury so that the city would not flood again. They built a concrete channel for the Still River to flow through.
Many roads, buildings, and homes were destroyed during the floods of 1955.
Today parts of downtown Danbury look very different than it did before the 1955 flood. The Still River stills flows through downtown Danbury, but much of it is hidden underground.
People
From the beginning, the Danbury story has been one of population growth. Early on, immigrants came from Ireland and Germany. Later, from Italy, Sweden, and Hungary. Many came to Danbury because they had family members already here and it was easy to find work in the hatting industry or one of its adjacent businesses.
By 1910, most of the people living in Danbury came from other countries. Families came from Poland, the Slovak nations, Lebanon, Syria, Portugal, and Brazil.
Today more than 85,000 people call Danbury home.
There are more than 40 languages spoken by students in Danbury's schools!
Hat City of the World
Hatting History
According to local folklore, a Danbury resident named Zadoc Benedict, plugged a hole in his shoe with some fur and discovered that friction and sweat had transformed it into felt. Applying his Yankee ingenuity, Benedict used his bedpost to mold and shape the felt into hats. Sometime around 1780, he opened a shop on Main Street and his initial output was a mere three hats per day.
Whatever the truth behind this story, hatting developed in Danbury partly because of a ready supply of natural resources, most notably water, and by 1800, Danbury was producing more hats than any place else in the United States. By 1887, the 30 factories that had had sprung up in the city were manufacturing five million hats a year. "The Hat Capital of the World," as it was called, was indisputably living by the words of its motto: "Danbury Crowns Them All."
Costly labor disputes and financial reversals resulted in many factories ceasing operations or moving elsewhere. By 1923, only six hat manufacturers were left in Danbury. Changing fashions contributed to the ongoing decline in the hatting industry. By 1965, Stetson Co. stopped operations at the Mallory Back Shop.
Today, the hatting industry has vanished from "The Hat Capital of The World," but its impact upon the entire region is captured in the John Dodd Hat Shop here at The Danbury Museum.
Open to the public on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for 12:00 tours, the Hat Shop is included in the four historic buildings on our campus. The exhibit features a film that documents the processes used in hat production, samples of Danbury-made hats, photographs, as well as tools and materials related to the industry.