Railroad Trestle over the Housatonic River, Derby – Ronald C. Barnes
The city of Derby, located in New Haven County, is in southwest Connecticut at the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers. Settled as a Native American trading post in 1654, it was named after Derby, England, in 1675. The city’s rivers made it an ideal spot for manufacturing. From the first water-powered gristmill in 1681 to the opening of the Housatonic Dam in 1870, Derby was a successful manufacturing town. In the nineteenth century, it produced a wide-variety of goods, including hoopskirts and corsets. Derby is the state’s smallest municipality and is also the birthplace of famous Revolutionary War hero David Humphreys.
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Two Connecticut men, uncle and nephew, had starring roles—one in defeat and one in victory—during the War of 1812. …[more]
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