28-587: The Home Woolen Company is a historic textile mill complex on Main Street in Beacon Falls, Connecticut . Developed between 1853 and 1916, the complex housed major local employers, engaged first in the manufacture of woolens and rubber products. The complex has been converted to residential use. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The former Home Woolen Company complex extends along
56-665: A dam on the river and a diversion canal (both no longer surviving) was purchased by the Home Woolen Company in 1868. The company greatly expanded the plant, but suffered from Southern competition and closed permanently (after several temporary closures) in 1887. The next major tenant was the Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Company, which operated here between 1898 and 1930, producing shoes and rubberized garments. The complex has since been converted to residential use. Beacon Falls, Connecticut Beacon Falls
84-781: A family was $ 62,461. Males had a median income of $ 41,696 versus $ 34,844 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 25,285. About 4.2% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line , including 9.8% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over. Beacon Falls is home to Woodland Regional High School , which opened in 2001. Woodland is part of Regional School District #16 (Beacon Falls and Prospect ), which also consists of Long River Middle School (P), Laurel Ledge Elementary School (BF), and Prospect Elementary School (P). The Beacon Falls train station provides commuter rail service to Bridgeport , Stamford , and Grand Central Terminal in New York City via
112-596: Is a town in western New Haven County, Connecticut , United States. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region & is around 6 miles from Waterbury . It lies in the southwestern part of the state, and is bisected by the Naugatuck River . The population was 6,000 at the 2020 census , down from 6,049 at the 2010 census . The area that was to become Beacon Falls was first inhabited by tribal communities of Paugusetts and Paugusucks and
140-669: Is also on the National Register of Historical Places (#07000108). Built in 1935 of riveted steel, it was designed by engineers from the Public Works Administration and the Connecticut Highway Department. The bridge joins the two parts of Beacon Falls bisected by the river. A second major historical Beacon Falls business, where many town residents worked over the years, was the Homer D. Bronson Company. In 1884
168-699: Is basically Italianate, with rectangular window openings, and corbelled brickwork on the towers. The industrial development of Beacon Falls was spurred by the completion of a railroad line along the Naugatuck River in 1849. The core of this complex was built in 1853 by the American Hard Rubber Company , a licensee of Charles Goodyear 's rubber vulcanizing process. That company operated here until 1858, producing, buttons, flasks, materials for use in shoe and garment manufacturing, and possibly also industrial machinery belts. The complex, which included
196-707: The Beacon Falls Postal District within Bethany . The Beacon Falls (Metro-North station) is on the Waterbury branch of the New Haven line. As of the census of 2010, there were 6,049 people, divided into 2,509 total households, with 2,360 occupied households in the town. The racial makeup (population) of the town was 91.2% White , 1.4% African American , 1.2% Asian , and 0.8% from two or more races, while 5.0% identified as either Hispanic or Latino . As of
224-627: The Lower Naugatuck Valley . This followed the invention and 1844 patent, by Connecticut native Charles Goodyear , of a chemical process called Vulcanization to convert natural rubber into a durable, flexible, waterproof material. In the 1850s the American Hard Rubber Company built a brick factory in Beacon Falls, utilizing water power from the Naugatuck River. The company made buttons, whip sockets, and powder flasks. After that company
252-478: The United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 9.9 square miles (26 km ), of which, 9.8 square miles (25 km ) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km ) of it (1.01%) is water. The village of Pine Bridge , once known as Pines Bridge, is located within the town, south of the town center. Beacon Falls has been known as Beacon Falls Station , Beacon Falls Village , and
280-548: The Waterbury Branch on the Metro-North Railroad 's New Haven Line . Beacon Falls lies along Connecticut Route 8 . Connecticut Transit Waterbury Division provides bus service to Beacon Falls on its 479X route. * Consolidated borough and town Home Woolen Company The Home Woolen Company is a historic textile mill complex on Main Street in Beacon Falls, Connecticut . Developed between 1853 and 1916,
308-524: The census of 2000, there were 5,246 people, 2,032 households, and 1,450 families residing in the town. The population density was 536.6 inhabitants per square mile (207.2/km ). There were 2,104 housing units at an average density of 215.2 per square mile (83.1/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 96.97% White , 0.72% African American , 0.08% Native American , 1.03% Asian , 0.04% Pacific Islander , 0.40% from other races , and 0.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.13% of
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#1733104917398336-541: The Goodyear Metallic Rubber Shoe Co. of Naugatuck, Connecticut , and his son Tracy S. Lewis, Secretary and Treasurer of that company, to resign and start a new business together. In 1898 the two Lewis men bought the Home Woolen Company facility and started the Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Company. The new company enjoyed great success for over two decades. From 150 pairs of shoes manufactured in 1899, by 1920 5.5 million pair were shipped; during that same time
364-533: The company moved to Beacon Falls from Waterbury, Connecticut (known as "the brass capital of the world"). The Homer D. Bronson Company manufactured a multitude of brass items, specializing in hinges used in industry and homes; automobile hood hinges were a major product. The company survived both the Great Depression and the Flood of 1955. Now named HDB Inc., its present-day website states that it has been "a leader in
392-401: The complex housed major local employers, engaged first in the manufacture of woolens and rubber products. The complex has been converted to residential use. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The former Home Woolen Company complex extends along the east side of Main Street (formerly Connecticut Route 8 ) at the southern end of the modest commercial center of
420-449: The east side of Main Street (formerly Connecticut Route 8 ) at the southern end of the modest commercial center of the village. The complex occupies 8 acres (3.2 ha), and includes about 25 buildings, a combination of joined and disconnected structures built mostly out of brick. Its most prominent features are the long three-story facade facing Main Street, which is punctuated by a pair of five-story stair- and clock-towers. The styling
448-420: The engineered hinge and metal stamping markets since 1839." In 1986 the company moved to Winsted, Connecticut . Beacon Falls is home to the nationally known Meteorologist Jim Cantore and U.S. Congressman Ronald A. Sarasin . On May 15, 2018, one of the four EF1 tornadoes that struck CT had a 9.1 mile path that started in Beacon Falls and caused serious damage to homes and infrastructure. According to
476-530: The factory. Tracy Lewis died prematurely in 1921 at age 47, marking the demise of the Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Company, followed by the gradual end of manufacturing at the Beacon Falls facility. After Lewis's death, the company was acquired by the United States Rubber Company in Naugatuck (formerly Goodyear Metallic Rubber Shoe Co., renamed Uniroyal, Inc. in 1961), and the Beacon Falls athletic shoe
504-414: The population. There were 2,032 households, out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families; 23.0% were made up of individuals, and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size
532-487: The towers. The industrial development of Beacon Falls was spurred by the completion of a railroad line along the Naugatuck River in 1849. The core of this complex was built in 1853 by the American Hard Rubber Company , a licensee of Charles Goodyear 's rubber vulcanizing process. That company operated here until 1858, producing, buttons, flasks, materials for use in shoe and garment manufacturing, and possibly also industrial machinery belts. The complex, which included
560-474: The town and the lives of its employees, including building a movie theater, with an assembly room and dance hall for public use, sponsoring a musical band that gave daily performances, and commissioning the influential landscape architectural firm Olmsted Brothers to create an overall design for company lands and buildings. The resulting plan embraced the Tracy S. Lewis House and a neighborhood of workers' homes above
588-424: The town's population doubled. The company specialized in rubber soled boots with leather uppers (like today's "L.L. Bean boots"), and rubber soled athletic shoes with canvas uppers (now called "sneakers"). The footwear was marketed under the brand name, "Top Notch." The Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Company was a tremendous physical, economic, and cultural presence in Beacon Falls. It made major civic efforts to enhance
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#1733104917398616-412: The valley. In 1984 the brick factory buildings were placed on the National Register of Historical Places as the "Home Woolen Company" (#84000410—"also known as Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Factory"). In the late 1980s the buildings were converted to a 188-unit, full-amenity apartment complex called Beacon Mill Village. The "Depot Street Bridge," spanning the Naugatuck River across from the old brick factory,
644-418: The village. The complex occupies 8 acres (3.2 ha), and includes about 25 buildings, a combination of joined and disconnected structures built mostly out of brick. Its most prominent features are the long three-story facade facing Main Street, which is punctuated by a pair of five-story stair- and clock-towers. The styling is basically Italianate, with rectangular window openings, and corbelled brickwork on
672-420: Was 3.08. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $ 56,592, and the median income for
700-483: Was acquired and moved to Long Island, the empty brick building was bought by the Home Woolen Company , which in the 1860s expanded and manufactured woolen shawls, popular at the time with men, women and Civil War soldiers. The Home Woolen Company operated for 20-plus years until it became insolvent in 1887. The 1898 inception of the Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Company lay in the decision of George Lewis, President of
728-432: Was named for Beacon Hill, from which a small waterfall descended. The history of Beacon Falls is tied to the series of manufacturing concerns that operated in the town's impressive brick factory buildings on North Main Street, adjacent to the Naugatuck River. The last and most successful of those concerns was the Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Company. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries rubber manufacturing thrived in
756-428: Was originally known as Nyumps. Early history texts indicate that a former Native American slave called Toby bought much of the land that was to become the town on September 7, 1693, for 10 pounds and a barrel of cider. Settlers from Derby , Connecticut moved to the area in 1678 and the town was incorporated in 1871 on lands carved from the neighboring towns of Bethany , Seymour , Naugatuck and Oxford . The town
784-599: Was renamed "Keds." Production in the elegant brick factory buildings ended during the Great Depression in 1930, after which the buildings were used only for storage. Several buildings associated with the company, including the movie theater, were destroyed when the State of Connecticut widened the road in front of the factory in 1949, and when the Flood of 1955 (Connecticut) flooded the Naugatuck River, causing extensive damage through
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