Connecticut, Fairfield County, Danbury
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• First recorded census taken in 1756, Danbury’s population: 1,527.
• Danbury’s first mayor, elected in 1888, was Lewis LeGrand Hopkins.
• The first train arrived on the tracks of the Danbury & Norwalk Railroad on March 1, 1851.
• Wakefield Dibble set up the town’s first grist mill on Beaver Brook in 1702.
• Danbury’s first newspaper was The Farmer’s Journal published in 1790.
• The first fire companies organize in 1829. The first engine was purchased in 1889 and the first ambulance in 1890.
• The Kohanza Reservoir was Danbury’s first public works project.
• The first grocery store was opened by L.S. Benedict & D.P. Nichols in 1838 on Main Street.
• The first trolley to Lake Kenosia ran on June 24, 1895.
• The first licensed female physician in con was Dr. Sophia Penfield. She practiced in Danbury for over 50 years.
• The first large scale hat manufacturing firm was Oliver Burr & Company established in 1787.
• The first hippopotamus was brought to the U.S. by Danbury resident and circus proprietor George F. Bailey. His was also the first American circus to tour Latin America.
• In 1861, The Wooster Light Guard, our only existing military company, was the first unit in the state to volunteer for service before the governor issued a call for troops at the onset of the Civil War.
• The United True and Assistant Society of Hatters was Danbury’s first union established circa 1800.
• Danbury was the first city in the State of Connecticut to switch from trolley to bus service.
• The first telephone was introduced to Danbury in 1879.
• When Danbury Library opened at 254 Main Street in 1879, Mary Elizabeth Dickens Taylor, a cousin of Charles Dickens, was the first librarian.
• First Courthouse and Jail erected in 1785.
• Thomas Robbins, Danbury’s first historian, delivered his Century Sermon at the Congregational Church on January 1, 1801.
• In 1927, the first radio station in Danbury was broadcast from the lobby of the Hotel Green on Main Street.
(Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
• First recorded census taken in 1756, Danbury’s population: 1,527.
• Danbury’s first mayor, elected in 1888, was Lewis LeGrand Hopkins.
• The first train arrived on the tracks of the Danbury & Norwalk Railroad on March 1, 1851.
• Wakefield Dibble set up the town’s first grist mill on Beaver Brook in 1702.
• Danbury’s first newspaper was The Farmer’s Journal published in 1790.
• The first fire companies organize in 1829. The first engine was purchased in 1889 and the first ambulance in 1890.
• The Kohanza Reservoir was Danbury’s first public works project.
• The first grocery store was opened by L.S. Benedict & D.P. Nichols in 1838 on Main Street.
• The first trolley to Lake Kenosia ran on June 24, 1895.
• The first licensed female physician in con was Dr. Sophia Penfield. She practiced in Danbury for over 50 years.
• The first large scale hat manufacturing firm was Oliver Burr & Company established in 1787.
• The first hippopotamus was brought to the U.S. by Danbury resident and circus proprietor George F. Bailey. His was also the first American circus to tour Latin America.
• In 1861, The Wooster Light Guard, our only existing military company, was the first unit in the state to volunteer for service before the governor issued a call for troops at the onset of the Civil War.
• The United True and Assistant Society of Hatters was Danbury’s first union established circa 1800.
• Danbury was the first city in the State of Connecticut to switch from trolley to bus service.
• The first telephone was introduced to Danbury in 1879.
• When Danbury Library opened at 254 Main Street in 1879, Mary Elizabeth Dickens Taylor, a cousin of Charles Dickens, was the first librarian.
• First Courthouse and Jail erected in 1785.
• Thomas Robbins, Danbury’s first historian, delivered his Century Sermon at the Congregational Church on January 1, 1801.
• In 1927, the first radio station in Danbury was broadcast from the lobby of the Hotel Green on Main Street.
(Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.