Leading Business Men of Fairfield County

The losses of private property were estimated to have been about £15,862. The town was so utterly impoverished that a stirring appeal was made to the Legislature in order that some of the impoverished people might not die of starvation. A sum of £500 was voted by the Legislature to relieve the immediate distresses of the suf- ferers, and the whole amount of the loss was finally paid a number of years after the war from the proceeds of the "Western Lands." The town records were almost entirely destroyed during the invasion, so that the early history of the town has been rendered much less full and accurate than otherwise would have been the case. An amusing incident is related which gives a humorous touch to a period other- wise entirely wrapped in gloom. A short distance outside of Danbury on the turnpike road dwelt Mr. Luther Holcomb, a rather eccentric gentleman. Hearing that the British were advancing, Mr. Holcomb mounted his horse and started out to meet them. He arrived at the summit of a low hill, just as the British were descending the one opposite. Mr. Holcomb then faced around, and as if addressing a large body of troops, shouted, in a voice of thunder: " Halt the whole Universe ! Break off by Kingdoms !" The British were considerably in doubt how large a force they had now to encounter. Their cannon was brought to the front of the line to bear upon their formidable enemy, and flanking parties were sent out to make discoveries. Meanwhile Mr. Holcomb was galloping back to Danbury, having saved considerable time for the people of the town and enabled many to make their escape. Although such a disaster might well have crushed a larger town, Danbury with characteristic perseverance was soon as prosperous as she had been before. She never suffered a second invasion, the people having declined to enjoy the doubtful pleasure of having their town made a deposit of Continental stores, and the objective point of a hostile attack. Many of the townsmen, however, were engaged with General Washington in his campaigns, and the town was honorably represented in all the great battles of the war. During the latter part of the Revolution a hospital for the American army was kept here. It occupied two large buildings on the property of Samuel Wildman, Esq., and during the course of the war more than two hundred soldiers were buried there. Thus, Danbury became the last resting place of many of the brave men who gave up their lives in the struggle for our independence. The fact that Danbury recovered very rapidly from the effects of the war and soon came to be a prominent town, is well demonstrated by her having been made a half-shire town in 17S4, the county-court alternating in its sittings between this place and Fairfield. For a short time a religious sect called the Landemamans, obtained some promi- nence, having been founded in 1765 by Robert Landemaman, a native of Perth, England, who died and was buried here in April, 1771. His peculiar doctrine was "the bare belief of the bare truth" of the Bible. They were a very quiet and up- right people, their services and life being somewhat after the manner of the Moravians. Danbury having no seaport could not profit by the brief "boom" in American shipping between the two wars with England, but she likewise did not suffer the reverses which many of the New England seacoast towns met from 1808 to 1820. D ANBURY, PAST AND PRESENT. 173 \» ■•*J|i!:-fffrT Wl«.|w-i»i flfPl -M IB «±i=4S^~* TOWN HALL AND SOLDIERS' MONUMENT. The manufacturing interests of the town have grown, though not with great rapid- ity, yet with great steadiness. As early as 1780 Zadoc Bennett was making hats here, being one of the earliest manufacturers in this line in the country. With the assistance of three men he was accustomed to make about three hats per day. In 1790 the first hat factory in the town was established by Burr & White, who employed about thirty hands and turned out about fifteen dozen a week. By 1800 the trade had assumed extensive proportions, twenty thousand hats, mostly fur, being manufactured annually, more than in any other place in the country. In 1836, there were twenty-four factories in operation in Danbury, with a working force of two hundred and thirty-nine persons, an annual output of one hundred and thirty-four thousand hats, and a total valuation of about §400,000. A paper mill had been established in 1792, which produced 1,500 reams annually, and a number of other important manufactories were started about the beginning of the century. In 1836 there were two hundred dwelling houses in the town, besides numerous other buildings, six meeting-houses (one each of the Congregational, Epis- copal, Baptist, Methodist, Universalist and Landemaman denominations), nine mer- cantile stores, a printing office, and an academy. The population of Danbury in 1840 was 4,5 04; in 1850 it had increased to 5,964, and was the fifth town in size in Connecticut. The completion of the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad in 1852 was an import- 174 D ANBURY, PAST AND PRESENT. ant event in the history of Danbury and aided materially in its progress. The open- ing of the New York & Housatonic Railroad in 1863, and of the New York & New England in 1883, have advanced the town yet more rapidly and made it an im- portant center in the western part of the State. Danbury's war record is one of which she has been and well may be proud. From the first call to arms until the fall of the Confederacy her citizens put forth devoted and untiring efforts in the service of the country. The toAvn was represented by Co. E, First Conn. Regiment, Captain E. E. Wildman; Co. A, Fifth Regiment, Cap- tain H. B. Stone; Co. D, Seventh Regiment, Captain B. F. Skinner; parts of Co.'s H and I, Eighth Regiment, and Co. A, Ninth Regiment; Co. A, Eleventh Regiment, Captain G. A. Southmayd; parts of Co. E, Twelfth Regiment, Co. C, Seventeenth, Captain James E. Moore; Co. B, Twenty-Third, Captain James H. Jenkins, besides other volunteers in almost every regiment sent out by the State. Major-General Darius N. Couch, the celebrated corps commander of the Army of the Potomac, was a native of Danbury. The Hon. Roger Averill, of Danbury, was the Lieut.-Governor of the State from 1862 to 1865, and admirably seconded the grand efforts of the War Governor, Wm, A. Buckingham, which made Connecticut renowned among the loyal States. Among other commissioned officers from Dan- bury were Lieut.-Col. Nelson L. White of the Fourth, and Lieut.-Col. Wm. C. Moeg- ling of the Eleventh. In all the important battles of the war: at Bulls' Run, the Peninsular Campaign, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Charlestown, New Orleans, Vicksburg, Sherman's March to the Sea, and the final campaign under Grant and Sheridan, the brave soldiers from Danbury fought with unflinching courage and patriotism, welding together the dissevered country with their own blood. Among the noble dead were Sergeant John R. Marsh, Lieut.-Cols. Henry B. Stone and Wm. C. Moegling, Captains James E. Moore and Selleck R. White, Lieut. Frederick Starr, and Private A. W. Wheeler, all noble and brave men, honored and mourned, both at home and in the field. In all, Danbury sent to the field more than a thousand men. The town was not less generous in supplying the sinews of war. Out of a grand list of $4,140,207, Danbury contributed $154,566, a proportion which was not surpassed by any town of equal valuation in the State. The U. S. Sanitary Commission, and the Christian Sanitary Commission, as well as State and local organ- izations for helping the soldiers were well supported, and the ladies of the town were untiring in their services. Danbury has been steadily advancing since the war. The manufacturing inter- ests have grown rapidly and many of the large houses are representatives of New Eno-land enterprise. The manufacture of hats has continued to be the leading line, and at present is one of the largest in the country. Other branches of trade have been successfully established and the advantages of the town are yearly attracting new houses. Two National and two Savings banks conduct the banking business of Danbury. There are three progressive journals: the Hepicblican, the Democrat and the News, the latter being the only daily in the city. The subject of education has received a great deal of attention from the citizens of Danbury, and its public school system is maintained at a high standard. There is a free library, which is much appreciated by the large number of inhabitants of a literary turn of mind. A beautiful town hall building has been erected recently DA NB UR Y, PAST A ND PRESENT. 1 75 •which is generally considered to be most elegant in design and finish of any in this part of the State. Danbury has attested her love for the soldiers and their memory by the recent dedication of a soldiers' monument. The management of the water and gas supply is most admirable. The magnificent arch of elms which lines the main street is the pride of the citizens and the admiration of the stranger. Few towns in New England have a more lovely situation than Danbury, either as regards scenery or health. " Terre Haute" is the name of a beautiful hill near the borough, which furnishes an entrancing out-look across the country. Deer Hill is one of the favorite resorts for those in search of beautiful scenery, and is widely noted for its model private residences. Two lovely lakes, "Neversink" and "Keno- sha," are frequently visited by pleasure-seekers, the latter being famous throughout the western part of the State. It is also the source of the Still River, which supplies the borough with excellent water power. With such advantages of situation joined to the enterprise of its citizens, it is not to be wondered at that Danbury has made such rapid progress in recent years. At the present time the population is estimated to be in the neighborhood of fifteen thousand, and every prospect favors yet more decided progress in the future. LEADING BUSINESS MEN OF Mill.