SERVPRO Can Help with Flood Damage in Danbury

1/19/2021 (Permalink)

Flooding is no match for SERVPRO. We are equipped and ready at a moment's notice to restore your home.

We are Experts in Danbury Flood Damage

Danbury is a vibrant city of more than 80,000 residents. Danbury has been around for a long time – settlers first came to Danbury in 1685 when eight families settled there. The settlers purchased land from the Pahquioque Native Americans, who had settled along the Still River's path.

Danbury's first settlers named it Swampfield due to its wetland location. However, the name did not stick, and a court decreed that the name should be Danbury. Like any town near a river, Danbury has long understood the power of water. This is especially true when you consider Danbury's long and proud hat-making history.

Danbury Crowns Them All

There were hat makers in Danbury before the revolution. However, in 1780 Zadoc Benedict became the proprietor of Danbury's first official hat shop:

• The factory was established on the main street.
• They had just three employees.
• The team made eighteen hats each week.
  
  

Local legend states that Zadoc Benedict was a felt-making pioneer who discovered the felt-making process by accident. After he plugged a hole in his shoe with rabbit fur, he observed how the hair wore down into felt over time. He used this knowledge to make felt hats from many local species.

This proud heritage earned Danbury the motto "Danbury crowns them all." At one point in the nineteenth century, the city produced 75% of the hat bodies for America's hat-making industry.

However, the hat industry in Danbury was not always harmonious. There were several long, nasty fights between hat factories and workers’ unions. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, there were several violent incidents between hat industry employees and workers who had been brought in to break the strikes. There were also arguments over the health of workers, for whom the use of mercury nitrate during felting caused an illness known as "mad hatter's disease" (this is where we get the phrase mad as a hatter.)

Unfortunately, the hat industry was waning by the 1920s. As it became more common to ride in covered carriages, and then later cars, there was less need for hats as protection from the elements. The last hat was made in Danbury in 1987.

Today there are still some old hat making sites visible in Danbury, and its legacy as The Hat City lives on, if only in memory.

The Disaster of a Broken Dam

In 1866, the Kohanza Reservoir was built to serve the hat industry. Three years later, in 1869, the dam on the Kohanza Reservoir broke, causing a disastrous flood of ice and water that took eleven lives. The flood moved boulders, uprooted trees, and caused significant damage to nearby houses and farmsteads.

SERVPRO Aids Flood Damage Cleanup

SERVPRO did not exist in 1869. However, these days we are on hand to help with flood damage cleanup. We can assist with:

• Assessing the situation and drawing up a plan of action.
• Disposing of unsalvageable materials.
• Drying your home and belongings quickly, so there is less chance of mold growth.
  
  

We can send your belongings to our facility for specialist cleanings, such as by Esporta washers or ultrasonic cleaners.

If you need help with flood damage in your home, call SERVPRO of Danbury / Ridgefield at (203) 990-1864.