The Naugatuck River Valley is the watershed area of the

Naugatuck River The Naugatuck River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Its waters carve out the Naugatuck River Valley in the w ...

in the western part of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. The Naugatuck Valley straddles parts of Litchfield County,

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

, and Fairfield counties. The Route 8 corridor and

Waterbury Branch The Waterbury Branch is a branch of the Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line, running north from a junction in the Devon section of Milford to Waterbury, Connecticut. Originally built as the Naugatuck Railroad, it once continued north to Winsted. ...

of the

Metro-North Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connecticut ...

railroad line run along the river valley. Geographically, it comprises the municipalities located within the

basin. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the area was one of the main manufacturing centers in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...

, and most of the communities around the river were emblematic New England mill towns.

Subdivisions

Traditionally, the Naugatuck Valley is often subdivided for historical, cultural, geographic, and demographic reasons. *The

Upper Naugatuck Valley The Northwest Hills (also known as the Litchfield Hills or Northwest Highlands) are a geographic region of the U.S. state of Connecticut located in the northwestern corner of the state. It is roughly coterminous with the boundaries of Litchfield ...

, more often referred to as the Litchfield (Northwest) Hills, refers to the area centered on the city of Torrington. The West Branch and East Branch Naugatuck Rivers merge in Torrington to form the main river. The watershed area in the Upper Naugatuck Valley includes parts of the towns of Goshen, Harwinton, Litchfield, Morris, New Hartford,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

, Torrington, Winchester. *The Central Naugatuck Valley, more often referred to as the Greater Waterbury area, is the region focused on the city of

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 20 ...

. The towns covered in part by the watershed area are Thomaston,

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital ...

, Watertown, Woodbury, Wolcott, Waterbury, Middlebury,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...

Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (mining ...

, and Naugatuck, Beacon Falls, and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

. The last three towns are sometimes also grouped with the lower valley region. *The Lower Naugatuck Valley refers to the area focused on the city of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

. The towns within the watershed area of the lower valley are Shelton,

Seymour Seymour may refer to: Places Australia *Seymour, Victoria, a township *Electoral district of Seymour, a former electoral district in Victoria *Rural City of Seymour, a former local government area in Victoria *Seymour, Tasmania, a locality ...

, Woodbridge, Ansonia, and Derby. The towns of Beacon Falls, Oxford, and Naugatuck, usually grouped together in the central valley region, are also sometimes assigned to the lower valley region.

References

External links

Naugatuck River Watershed AssociationLower Naugatuck Valley Council of GovernmentsCentral Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments
{{Authority control Waterbury, Connecticut River valleys of the United States Valleys of Connecticut Landforms of Litchfield County, Connecticut Landforms of New Haven County, Connecticut Landforms of Fairfield County, Connecticut

Subdivisions

See also

References

External links