At one time, Danbury had 35 hat factories, more than any other American city. Another 20 factories in town made materials like silk for hat linings and leather sweatbands for the inside of the hats. Some factories made machinery for the hat factories too. Many of the older houses in Danbury today were built by people who owned hat factories or worked in them. Mass production of hats started in Danbury sometime in the 1780s. During the 19th century, the old craft of making fur into mens hats became more and more mechanized. The factories got bigger and bigger. More and more workers filled the factories and more and more hats were made. The factories were built next to water and close to transportation. These days, little is left of Danburys hatting past. When the downtown was rebuilt after the floods in the 1950s, many fur shops were gone. Fire claimed other factories, like the Lee-MacLachlan and John Green buildings. Most of the factories were built of wood and burned easily. One by one, all the big hat factories closed down. Most were closed by 1960, but the last hat factory closed its doors in 1987. Source: Hats off to History. Danbury News-Times, September 7, 1993. Photos courtesy of Danbury Museum Vanishing Hat Factories Back to Hatting J. Kilcourse revised 10/10/09 LikeLike · · Promote · S
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 16:53:52 +0000
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