Beacon Falls, in New Haven County, is located in the southwestern portion of Connecticut. Among the state’s smallest towns in population and area, it is bisected by the Naugatuck River and capped by the Naugatuck State Forest. First inhabited by tribal communities of Paugasetts and Paugasucks, and later, in 1678, settled by English colonists, the area was originally known as Nyumps. Beacon Falls was formed from pieces of the neighboring towns of Bethany, Oxford, Naugatuck, and Seymour and incorporated in June of 1871. The town’s early economy centered on farming, friction matches, and rubber shoes and is service based today.
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Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Company Puts Best Foot Forward
Father and son George and Tracy Lewis not only founded a business together, they also had a hand in more than doubling the population of Beacon Falls. …[more]
Learn More
Websites
Beacon Falls Historical Society. “Marriage and Death Records Index,” 2016. Link.
Places
“Beacon Falls Historical Society,” 2016. Link.
Documents
Connecticut State Library Digital Collections. “Beacon Falls - WPA Architectural Survey,” 2016. Link.
“Beacon Falls Collection.” Connecticut Digital Archive, n.d. Link.
“Map - North Part of New Haven Co., Connecticut from Town and City Atlas of the State of Connecticut.” Boston, MA: D.H. Hurd & Company, 1893. University of Connecticut Libraries, Map and Geographic Information Center - MAGIC. Link.
Books
Heiss, Mark, and Beacon Falls Historical Society. Beacon Falls. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2012.
Rockey, J. L., ed. History of New Haven County, Connecticut. Vol. 2. New York: W. W. Preston, 1892. Link.
Shields, Mary Ruth. Naugatuck Valley Textile Industry. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2011.