Naugatuck River Valley

Last updated

The Naugatuck River Valley is the watershed area of the Naugatuck River in the western part of Connecticut. The Naugatuck Valley straddles parts of Litchfield County, New Haven, and Fairfield counties. The Route 8 corridor and Waterbury Branch of the Metro-North railroad line run along the river valley. Geographically, it comprises the municipalities located within the Naugatuck River basin. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the area was one of the main manufacturing centers in New England, and most of the communities around the river were emblematic New England mill towns.

Contents

Subdivisions

Map of Connecticut showing the regions of the Naugatuck River Valley. Green is the Valley, yellow is the Greater Waterbury area, and blue is the Litchfield Hills region. Naugatuckvalley.png
Map of Connecticut showing the regions of the Naugatuck River Valley. Green is the Valley, yellow is the Greater Waterbury area, and blue is the Litchfield Hills region.

Traditionally, the Naugatuck Valley is often subdivided for historical, cultural, geographic, and demographic reasons.

Towns and cities

The following municipalities are members of the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG):

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Litchfield County, Connecticut</span> County in Connecticut, United States

Litchfield County is a county in northwestern Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut and is the state's largest county by area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Haven County, Connecticut</span> County in Connecticut, United States

New Haven County is a county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 864,835, making it the third-most populous county in Connecticut. Two of the state's five largest cities, New Haven (3rd) and Waterbury (5th), are part of New Haven County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakville, Connecticut</span> Census-designated place in Connecticut, United States

Oakville is a census-designated place (CDP) and neighborhood section of Watertown, in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,047 as of the 2010 census. It is the most populous community in Watertown, with more than twice as many people as the center village of Watertown. The ZIP code for Oakville is 06779.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomaston, Connecticut</span> Town in Connecticut, United States

Thomaston is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The population was 7,442 at the 2020 census. The urban center of the town is the Thomaston census-designated place, with a population of 1,928 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watertown, Connecticut</span> Town in Connecticut, United States

Watertown is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The population was 22,105 at the 2020 census. The ZIP Codes for Watertown are 06795 and 06779. It is a suburb of Waterbury. The urban center of the town is the Watertown census-designated place, with a population of 3,938 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middlebury, Connecticut</span> Town in Connecticut, United States

Middlebury is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,574 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Waterbury to its south, and is on the northern fringe of the New York metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Litchfield Hills</span> Region of the state of Connecticut, U.S.

The Litchfield Hills are a geographic region of the U.S. state of Connecticut located in the northwestern corner of the state. It is roughly coterminous with the boundaries of Litchfield County, for which it is named. The geographic region includes colloquial subregions—rural Northwestern Connecticut and the area associated with the city of Torrington, also known as the Upper Naugatuck River Valley or simply Litchfield Hills—which have also variously corresponded to designated government councils both past and present. Much of the area makes up the lowermost section of the Berkshires and is culturally similar to the rest of western New England.

The Republican-American is a conservative-leaning, family-owned newspaper based in Waterbury, Connecticut. It was established in 1990 through merger of two newspapers under the same ownership: Waterbury American and Waterbury Republican. The publication's origins date back to 1844.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Area codes 203 and 475</span> Area codes for southwestern Connecticut

Area codes 203 and 475 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The numbering plan area (NPA) is mostly coextensive with the Connecticut portion of the New York metropolitan area, and comprises most of Fairfield County, all of New Haven County, and a small portion of Litchfield County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naugatuck Railroad</span>

The Naugatuck Railroad is a common carrier railroad owned by the Railroad Museum of New England and operated on tracks leased from the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The original Naugatuck Railroad was a railroad chartered to operate through south central Connecticut in 1845, with the first section opening for service in 1849. In 1887 the line was leased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, and became wholly owned by 1906. At its greatest extent the Naugatuck ran from Bridgeport north to Winsted. Today's Naugatuck Railroad, formed in 1996, runs from Waterbury to the end of track in Torrington, Connecticut. From Waterbury south to the New Haven Line, Metro-North Railroad operates commuter service on the Waterbury Branch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut Route 8</span> Highway in Connecticut

Route 8 is a 67.36-mile (108.41 km) state highway in Connecticut that runs north–south from Bridgeport, through Waterbury, all the way to the Massachusetts state line where it continues as Massachusetts Route 8. Most of the highway is a four-lane freeway but the northernmost 8.8 miles (14.2 km) is a two-lane surface road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut</span> Diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States

The Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the entire state of Connecticut. It is one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church and one of seven New England dioceses that make up Province 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut's 5th congressional district</span> U.S. House district for Connecticut

Connecticut's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in the western part of the state and spanning across parts of Fairfield, Litchfield, New Haven, and Hartford Counties, the district runs from Meriden and New Britain in central Connecticut, westward to Danbury and the surrounding Housatonic Valley, encompassing the Farmington Valley, Upper Naugatuck River Valley, and the Litchfield Hills. The district also includes most of Waterbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naugatuck River</span> River in Connecticut, United States

The Naugatuck River is a 40.2-mile-long (64.7 km) river in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Its waters carve out the Naugatuck River Valley in the western reaches of the state, flowing generally due south and eventually emptying into the Housatonic River at Derby, Connecticut and thence 11 miles (18 km) to Long Island Sound. The Plume and Atwood Dam in Thomaston, completed in 1960 following the Great Flood of 1955, creates a reservoir on the river and is the last barrier to salmon and trout migrating up from the sea.

The Lower Naugatuck Valley, also known locally as simply "The Valley", is a geographic area located around the confluence of the southern parts of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers. It consists of the municipalities of Seymour, Derby, Ansonia, and outside the Naugatuck watershed, Shelton, which constitute the Valley Council of Governments. The scope of the Lower Naugatuck Valley is also sometimes extended to encompass the next three towns upstream and to the north, which are Beacon Falls, Naugatuck, and Oxford, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Naugatuck Valley</span> Place in Connecticut, United States

The Central Naugatuck Valley is a region of Connecticut in New Haven and Litchfield counties located approximately 70 miles (110 km) northeast of New York City and 110 miles (180 km) southwest of Boston, United States. The region comprises 13 towns: Beacon Falls, Bethlehem, Cheshire, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Oxford, Prospect, Southbury, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown, Wolcott, and Woodbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naugatuck State Forest</span>

Naugatuck State Forest is a Connecticut state forest consisting of five separate blocks in the towns of Oxford, Beacon Falls, Naugatuck, Bethany, Cheshire, Hamden, Seymour, and Ansonia. The five blocks are the Mount Sanford, East, West, Quillinan Reservoir, and Great Hill (Seymour) blocks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert W. Hill</span> American architect

Robert W. Hill was an American architect from Waterbury, Connecticut. He was one of Connecticut's most important 19th century architects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, Connecticut</span> Planning region in Connecticut

The Naugatuck Valley Planning Region is a planning region and county-equivalent in Connecticut. It is served by the coterminous Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG). In 2022, planning regions were approved to replace Connecticut's counties as county-equivalents for statistical purposes, with full implementation occurring by 2024.

References