Interesting Fun Facts About Danbury; The Hat City

Every village, town, and city across the USA has its own unique personality that makes up their town's personality. Here are some quick Danbury fun facts that set our city of 80,893 apart from all the others.

1. Danbury was named for the settlers that migrated from the city of Danbury Essex England.

2. Danbury was settled by colonists in 1685, but back then it was known as Pahquioque after its namesake, the Pahquioque Native Americans.

3. During the American Revolution, Danbury was a major supply depot for the Continental Army.

4. In April of 1777, Danbury was looted and burned to the ground by the British under Major General William Tryon.

5. The hat industry begins to take hold in Danbury in the year 1780 and becomes "The Hat City" and, later, "The Hatting Capital of the World" in the early 20th century. The hat shown below was manufactured by the Mallory Hat factory located in Danbury during the mid 1900's and is available on ebay.

6. The Great Danbury Fair was introduced in 1821, and became a yearly tradition beginning in 1869. The last year of the Fair was 1981.

7. By the year 1929, the two most popular attractions at the Fair were auto and horse racing.

8. In 1946, the Fair's horse racing track was removed in favor of a banked speedway track. The paperback below is available on ebay at the "barnesandnoble" ebay store.

9. In 1899, a group of concerned individuals calling themselves, "Citizens of Danbury," petitioned for a law enforcement presence to stop the sale of booze and bawdy shows.

10. In 1905, the General Assembly got their panties in a bunch when they put the hammer down on shows like, "Paris By Night," and "Bowery Maidens." The Great Danbury Fair was the oldest operating fair in the country.

Listen to Ethan Carey on the Ethan & Lou Show weekdays from 5:30-10AM on 95.1 FM. You can listen online at i95rock.com/listen-live/ or by downloading the radioPup app for your mobile device.