Naugatuck, Connecticut

Naugatuck, Connecticut
NECTA	Waterbury
Region	Central Naugatuck Valley
Incorporated	1844
Consolidated	1895
Government
• Type	Mayor-burgesses
• Mayor	Ronald S. San Angelo
Population  (2005)
• Total	31,864
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code	06770
Website	http://www.naugatuckonline.com/

Naugatuck is a borough in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 30,989 at the 2000 census. The town spans both sides of the Naugatuck River just south of Waterbury, and includes the town center of Union City, which has its own post office.

The ZIP code for Naugatuck and Union City is 06770. The town has a Metro North train station.

The Town

Goodyear Metallic Rubber Shoe Company & Downtown Naugatuck (c. 1900)

Naugatuck was the location of the first production of Naugahyde, although it is no longer produced there. Charles Goodyear discovered the process of the vulcanization of rubber in the borough. It is home to Peter Paul, the Hershey Foods division that produces Almond Joy and Mounds candy bars. The town common features 11 commissions by the renowned New York architecture firm of McKim, Mead and White.

Naugatuck was settled in 1701 as a farming community in rural Western Connecticut. As the Industrial Revolution commenced, Naugatuck was transformed into a hardscrabble mill-town like its neighbors in the Naugatuck Valley. Rubber was the chiefly manufactured product, produced well into the 1980s.

As American manufacturing declined in the late 20th Century, the mills closed and the town fell on largely hard times. With the expansion of suburbs, especially in New Haven and Fairfield County, the town is largely a bedroom community for the lower-middle class. With this, many of Naugatuck's neighbors are fairly wealthy. Middlebury and Oxford are affluent towns that have higher performing school districts, but the price to live in these suburbs is high. Currently, many new more expensive homes are being built as people from Fairfield county and other areas are looking for more affordable housing and convenient access to major highways.

The local high school, Naugatuck High, has a storied football rivalry with the high school in Ansonia that is one of the longest in America. Like the other high schools in the Naugatuck Valley, the two teams meet the morning of Thanksgiving Day. The first meeting was in 1900. Ansonia is the long-term winner in the series.

Government

The mayor is Ronald San Angelo, a Republican first elected in 2003.

Naugatuck is unique in Connecticut government for being the only municipality called a "borough". Every other borough in Connecticut is a special services district located within another "town", the unit of Connecticut local government. Naugatuck is technically a merged borough-town with a town clerk and a borough clerk managing official records, much like Connecticut cities are technically merged city-towns with two clerks (city and town).

Naugatuck is also one of the few municipalities to elect its local officials during May of odd-numbered years, along with the other boroughs and two rural towns (Bethany and Ashford). Other Connecticut towns and cities elect their officials in November of odd numbered years.

On the National Register of Historic Places

• Bronson B. Tuttle House — 380 Church St. (added December 29, 1990)
• Naugatuck Center Historic District — Roughly bounded by Fairview Avenue, Hillside Avenue, Terrace Avenue, Water Street and Pleasant View Street (added August 30, 1999)
• Salem School — 124 Meadow St. (added December 3, 1983)
• US Post Office-Naugatuck Main — Church and Cedar Streets (added February 21, 1986)

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 42.6 km² (16.5 mi²). 42.4 km² (16.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.36%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 30,989 people, 11,829 households, and 8,292 families residing in the borough. The population density was 730.0/km² (1,890.9/mi²). There were 12,341 housing units at an average density of 290.7/km² (753.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 91.76% White, 2.85% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 1.68% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.58% from other races, and 1.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.47% of the population.

There were 11,829 households out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.3% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the borough the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $51,247, and the median income for a family was $59,286. Males had a median income of $42,103 versus $29,971 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $22,757. About 0.9% of families and 1.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005
Party		Active Voters	Inactive Voters	Total Voters	Percentage	Democratic	5,497	172	5,669	32.29%	Republican	3,222	123	3,345	19.05%	Unaffiliated	8,011	369	8,380	47.73%	Minor Parties	154	9	163	0.93%
Total		16,884	673	17,557	100%

External links

• Borough of Naugatuck
• Naugatuck Historical Society
• Howard Whittemore Library
• Naugatuck Arts Commission
• Naugatuck postcards from the 1800's and early 1900's
• Northwest Connecticut Convention & Visitors Bureau