Danbury, Connecticut

     The Town of Danbury was founded in 1684 by "Eight Families" who walked to the area from Norwalk and purchased land from the Indians. First surveyed in 1693, the town, including what was then Bethel parish, in 1784 it was made into a half-shire of Fairfield County. In 1889 Danbury was chartered as a city with its present borders.      The Danbury Museum and Historical Society offers perspective on a city that was settled in the 17th Century, was burned by the British in the 18th Century, was a business center in the 19th Century, became known as the Hat City and then saw its hatting industry disappear in the 20th Century. Set near the south end of Danbury’s Main Street, the museum complex includes a handsome example of an 18th Century home, the John Rider House, ca. 1785, which will be undergoing renovations this year and closed to the public. The museum collection includes Revolutionary War artifacts, woodworking tools, textiles, and an exhibit on the Danbury hatting industry in the John Dodd Shop, ca. 1790. The campus also includes the studio of famed singer and longtime Danburian, Marian Anderson.

 

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