
Contributed Photo
A sign on Silvermine Road misspells Katharine as “Katherine.”
SEYMOUR — The Town of Seymour has ordered two new signs after a resident pointed out a major benefactor’s name was misspelled.
At a Board of Selectmen meeting Aug. 6, Christopher Bowen pointed out that Katharine Matthies’ first name was misspelled on two signs — a park named in her honor at 193 Silvermine Road, and a walking track at Chatfield Park on Chatfield Street.
“You will notice that her name is spelled K‑a-t-h-e-r-i-n‑e. Those are errors,” Bowen said.
Matthies’ first name was spelled Katharine, with an ‘a’ in the middle, not an ‘e.’
Katharine Matthies was a lifelong Seymour resident and philanthropist. Members of her family were leading industrialists and played a key role in Seymour’s development, according to biographical information published on The Electronic Valley.
The Katharine Matthies Foundation created in 1987 after her death, is her legacy, and has benefited hundreds of nonprofit groups in the lower Naugatuck Valley (including The Valley Indy) and Seymour specifically.
The foundation is now housed within a division of the Bank of America.
“It’s been brought to my attention that although this is a common mistake it is one that could, potentially, offend The Katharine Matthies Foundation,” Bowen told Seymour’s legislative body.

Contributed Photo
The sign misspells Katharine as “Katherine.”
Bowen is running as a Democrat for a seat on the Board of Selectmen. He told The Valley Indy the misspellings were brought to his attention by “citizens affiliated with” the Seymour Historical Society shortly after announcing his campaign for local office.
“I honestly did not notice anything wrong until it was pointed out to me,” Bowen said in an email.
In an email Monday, First Selectman Kurt Miller said replacement signs have been ordered from Grand Concepts, a Seymour-based business. The cost wasn’t available Monday, but town officials said it will be available Tuesday. Update — the signs are $1,200 each.
The signs have been up since 1998 and 2007.
Matthies’ first name is also misspelled on the website for the town’s Recreation Department.
Google Maps also has her first name misspelled.
In 2014 the Town of Seymour filed a lawsuit against a company that delivered several signs to Seymour with spelling mistakes.
Among the mistakes — spelling Matthies’ last name wrong.