| Naugatuck River Valley |
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Information AboutNaugatuck River Valley |
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The Valley is a unique region straddling Fairfield and New Haven counties, and was once the most prosperous part of Connecticut in the early days of industrialization. The region was home to key factories in national industries, most notably the brass industry, rubber manufacturing, petrochemical production, and shipbuilding. The friction match was invented in the town of Beacon Falls, and Naugatuck was the birthplace of Naugahyde . This industrial past has given the region a heavily urban landscape, with many factory buildings rising prominently along the riverside and dominating the central districts of the towns. After the Great Depression , however, the area began a prolonged period of deindustrialization and lost large portions of its manufacturing base, leaving behind weak economies and empty buildings typical of Rustbelt landscapes. In 1955, the area's fortunes were further impaired when floodwaters brought by Hurricane Diane devastated the region. High unemployment, poverty, and isolation marked the Valley through the 1980's, but this changed drastically in succeeding decades. The western portions of the Valley (Oxford and the Huntington section of Shelton) have evolved into commuter towns similar to neighboring Fairfield County communities, while the eastern Valley towns began to identify with other suburbs in Greater New Haven . Despite this suburbanization, however, the Valley still retains its working-class flavor (particularly in Ansonia, Derby, and downtown Seymour and Shelton). In contrast with other regions of Connecticut, for example, the Valley maintains a high emotional and cultural involvement with its high school football teams and their rivalries. In 2000, as a sign of the Valley's enduring character, the seven-town region was selected as an "All-American City," with the title of the award specially changed to "All-American ''Valley''." |
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