Almost Gone: The Jewish Community Of The Lower Naugatuck Valley


It’s not there anymore. Certainly not like it used to be.

A vibrant community that contributed to the religious, commercial, educational, and civic life of the Lower Naugatuck Valley – and thrived for well over 100 years – has left behind only traces and tantalizing clues about its past. In 30 years or so, no one alive will remember it.

So, I decided write about it.

Today, it is hard to imagine just how vibrant the lower Naugatuck Valley towns of Ansonia, Derby, Shelton, and Seymour once were. 

Fueled in large part by the Irish, Italian, and Eastern Europian immigrants to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these industrial towns grew significantly as demand for their products increased both domestically and internationally. Factories produced copper and brass goods, pins, heavy machinery, fine fabrics, pianos, electrical equipment, clocks. 

The Valley and its environs were textbook examples of small town industrial America that existed from just after the Civil War to the Vietnam War.

Click here to continue reading this story at the Connecticut Jewish Ledger website.

Reprinted with permission from the publication.

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