Settlement began as early as 1702. Samuel Hickox (1669–1713), credited as Naugatuck’s first settler, established a fulling mill on Fulling Mill Brook in 1709. The locality was known as Judds Meadow until 1752, when it was renamed Salem Bridge. In 1844, parts of Waterbury, Bethany, and Oxford incorporated as the town of Naugatuck. The Borough of Naugatuck was established in 1893 and became coextensive with the town in 1895. As the
Industrial Revolution accelerated, Naugatuck developed a diverse manufacturing base and became a center of the rubber industry. In 1892, nine firms consolidated to form the
United States Rubber Company (later Uniroyal Inc.), organized in Naugatuck, which for decades kept major operations in the borough. In 1936, U.S. Rubber introduced
Naugahyde, a vinyl-coated fabric invented by company chemists in Naugatuck; the material was manufactured locally for many years. The United States Rubber Company also created the Naugatuck Chemical Company in the early 20th century; the business later became Uniroyal Chemical and relocated major operations to
Middlebury, Connecticut in the 1970s. The Risdon Manufacturing Company, established in Naugatuck in the early 1900s, became a leading maker of metal closures and cosmetic packaging and later operated regionally under Crown Risdon. In the 1960s, Harold Barber founded
H. Barber and Sons, which designs and builds beach-cleaning equipment and has claimed to be the largest such business in the world.
Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Company, later a division of the
Hershey Foods Corporation producing
Almond Joy and
Mounds, operated in Naugatuck for much of the 20th century; the factory closed in 2007. On August 19, 1955, the Naugatuck River flooded following more than of rain from
Hurricane Diane, causing widespread destruction that reshaped the borough’s riverfront.
Naugatuck High School has a
long-standing football rivalry with
Ansonia. The teams have met on Thanksgiving morning since 1900, with Ansonia holding the series lead. Naugatuck High School’s mascot is the greyhound, and its colors are garnet and gray. ==Geography==