Danbury, Connecticut | ||
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City | ||
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Nickname(s): The Hat City | ||
Location in Fairfield County and the state of Connecticut. |
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Coordinates: 41°24′08″N 73°28′16″W / 41.40222°N 73.47111°WCoordinates: 41°24′08″N 73°28′16″W / 41.40222°N 73.47111°W | ||
Country | United States | |
State | Connecticut | |
County | Fairfield | |
NECTA | Danbury | |
Region | Housatonic Valley | |
Incorporated (town) | 1702 | |
Incorporated (city) | 1889 | |
Consolidated | 1965 | |
Government | ||
• Type | Mayor-council | |
• Mayor | Mark D. Boughton (R) | |
Area | ||
• City | 44.3 sq mi (114.7 km2) | |
• Land | 42.1 sq mi (109.1 km2) | |
• Water | 2.2 sq mi (5.7 km2) | |
• Urban | 123.6 sq mi (320.1 km2) | |
Elevation | 397 ft (121 m) | |
Population (2011) | ||
• City | 81,671 | |
• Density | 1,800/sq mi (710/km2) | |
Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | |
• Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | |
ZIP code | 06810, 06811, 06813 | |
Area code(s) | 203; also future 475 | |
FIPS code | 09-18430 | |
GNIS feature ID | 0206580 | |
Website | www |
Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, approximately 70 miles from New York City. Danbury's population at the 2010 census was 80,893. Danbury is the fourth most populous city in Fairfield County, and seventh among Connecticut cities. The city is located within the New York metropolitan area.
The city was named for the place of origin of many of the early settlers, Danbury, Essex, England, and is nicknamed the Hat City because of its prominent history in the hat industry. There is a mineral named for Danbury, danburite.
Danbury is home to Danbury Hospital, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury Fair Mall and Danbury Municipal Airport.
Danbury was settled by colonists in 1685, when eight families moved from what are now Norwalk and Stamford, Connecticut. The Danbury area was then called Pahquioque by its namesake, the Pahquioque Native Americans. One of the original settlers was Samuel Benedict, who bought land from the Paquioques in 1685, along with his brother James Benedict, James Beebe, and Judah Gregory. Also called Paquiack ("open plain" or "cleared land") by local Native Americans, the settlers chose the name Swampfield for their town, but in October 1687, the general court decreed the name Danbury. The general court appointed a committee to lay out the boundaries of the new town. A survey was made in 1693, and a formal town patent was granted in 1702.
During the American Revolution, Danbury was an important military supply depot for the Continental Army. On April 26, 1777, the British, under Major General William Tryon, burned and looted the city. The central motto on the seal of the City of Danbury is Restituimus (Latin for "We have restored"), a reference to the destruction caused by the Loyalist army troops. The American General David Wooster was mortally wounded at the Battle of Ridgefield by the same British forces which had attacked Danbury. He is buried in Danbury's Wooster Cemetery; the private Wooster School in Danbury also was named in his honor.