154 



CITIES, AMERICAN. (DECATUR.) 



from New York, April 25, 1777, with 2,000 men, 

 destroyed, <>M tl.<> following day, a large amount 

 of public stores and private property. Gens. 

 Silliiimn. Arnold, and Wooster hurried to the 

 rdi.-f, and the last named received a mortal 

 wound at Ridgefield, and expired at Danbury, 

 where he was buried. In 1854 his remains were 

 removed to their present resting-place (Wooster 

 Cemetery), and a fine monument was set up at 

 the expense of the State and his brother Masons. 

 Danbury was continued as a Government depot, 

 with a garrison, and in 1778 an army hospital 

 was established. For several weeks Gen. Gates 

 camped here with an army of four brigades. In 

 1784 it became a shire town, and in 1822 was 

 chartered as a borough. In March, 1851, the first 

 railroad was completed. During the civil war 

 1.360 citizens, or about one sixth of the popula- 

 tion, entered the service of the United States, 

 and $154,566 were contributed to the war fund. 

 The city was incorporated in 1889. The popula- 

 tion in 1870 was 8,753; in 1880, 11,619; and in 

 1890, 19,473. Danbury is the chief city in the 

 manufacture of hats iri the United States. The 

 first factory in the country was established here 

 in 1780, by Zadoc Benedict, who, with 1 journey- 

 man and "2 apprentices, produced 3 hats daily. 

 In 1801, 20,000 hats (mostly of fur) were pro- 

 duced yearly for exportation. In 1891 there were 

 30 large factories, employing over 3,000 per- 

 sons, and turning out 6,000,000 hats a year ; also 

 2 mills for the preparation of fur, 3 factories 

 for wooden hat-cases, and 7 for paper boxes. 

 The other industries include 5 large iron mills 

 and a silver-plating establishment. Water is 

 supplied from 4 reservoirs, and there are 2 

 natural lakes in the city. There is a paid fire 

 department with electric alarm, and a line of 

 street railway connecting with the borough of 

 Bethel on the south, and traversing the princi- 

 pal thoroughfares from east to west. Electric 

 fighting is in use One daily, 1 weekly, and 1 

 monthly papers are published. Two national 

 banks (one of which has a stone building erected 

 at a cost of $35,000) have an aggregate capital 

 of $577,000, and surplus of $123.000. There are 

 also 2 savings banks. Ten religious denomina- 

 tions are represented, with buildings of their 

 own. Robert Sandeman, a native of Scotland, 

 the founder of a sect with 400 followers in the 

 world, 40 of whom are in the United States, died 

 in Danbury in 1771, and is buried here. The 

 Sandemanian church at Danbury was founded in 

 1875, but has been sold. There are 6 public- 

 school buildings, costing $100,000. The attend- 

 ance is 2,100. In addition to private institu- 

 tions, there are also Roman Catholic and Ger- 

 man Lutheran parochial schools. The library, 

 a gift to the city from the family of E. Moss 

 White, occupies a fine building. Prominent 

 charitable institutions are the hospital, which 

 cost $15,000, and the Children's Home and Re- 

 lief Society, the latter incorporated in 1884. 

 The City Hall cost $45,000, and an appropriation 

 has been made by Congress for a Federal build- 

 ing. There is a finely equipped club-house, and 

 the city has two boards of trade. The business 

 streets are paved, and there are miles of good 

 sidewalks, shaded by elms, some of which are 

 more than a century old. The Danbury Agri- 

 cultural Society has a membership of 20,000. 



Decatnr, a city of Illinois, county seat of 

 Macon County, in the center of the State, on 

 Sangamon river, 39 miles east of Springfield, 

 174 miles from Chicago, and 108 from St. Louis. 

 It is an important railroad center, 7 roads reach- 

 ing out in 13 directions, penetrating 62 coun- 

 ties of the State. Two hundred trains enter and 

 leave the city every day, and $700,000 are re- 

 ceived yearly for freight. Decatur is the prin- 

 cipal city on the main line of the Illinois Central 

 Railroad, and the offices, shops, round houses, 

 and tracks of the Wabash Railroad here are 

 valued at $1,778,905. Three of the general 

 offices of the entire system are in Decatur, as are 

 also the general offices of the Terre Haute and 

 Peoria. The city is sixty years old, and in 1880 

 had a population of 9,547; in 1890 it was 16,- 

 841, showing an increase of 76-40 per cent. On 

 Nov. 6, 1891, it was shown that permanent im- 

 provements during the year reached the sum of 

 $1,166,088, of which $508,000 were for public 

 and business buildings, $527,300 for private resi- 

 dences, $66,288 for sewers, and $29,500 for pav- 

 ing. For . the last item $300,000 had been ex- 

 pended to June, 1890. The water works have 

 been doubled, and there is a superior fire depart- 

 ment. In addition to the electric-light plant 

 owned by the city, there is an electric company, 

 with an investment of $70,000, under the same 

 management as the gas company, the works of 

 which were established in 1868. Two electric 

 street railways have 12 miles of road. The city 

 property, exclusive of parks, amounts to $486,- 

 999, and the debt is $60,490, the interest on 

 which is paid, with an excess of $800, by the in- 

 come from the water works. Four banks have 

 an available capital of more than $1,000,000, and 

 there are 3 building, loan, and savings associ- 

 ations. The school property is valued at $150,- 

 000, and the school debt is $22,317. In addition 

 to the high school, there are 8 school buildings, 

 in which 50 teachers were employed in 1890, 

 with an attendance of 2,936 pupils. In addition 

 there are 3 private schools, a college of music, 

 and a business college. The churches number 

 23. There is a city library, of nearly 10,000 vol- 

 umes. Four daily and 5 weekly newspapers are 

 published. The wholesale and jobbing trade of 

 the city is about $6,000,000 yearly. There is a 

 board of trade. Decatur is in the center of 

 the great coal fields of Illinois ; two shafts are 

 worked within the city. Over $500,000 are in- 

 vested in manufactures, employing 2,500 persons. 

 The products include brass and iron work, agri- 

 cultural implements, special machinery, electric 

 dynamos, motors, etc., artificial stone, vitrified 

 paving stone, brick, automatic grain scales, ele- 

 vator supplies, gas machines, galvanized-iron 

 cornice, carriages, road carts, etc., wire clothes- 

 lines, furniture, windmills, sash, doors, and 

 blinds, incubators and brooders, trunks, tents, 

 cigars, pumps, hose supporters, metallic mats. 

 oil barrels, and artificial ice. There are linseed- 

 oil mills, a brewery, bottling works, lumber com- 

 panies, a yarn factory, and knitting works. A 

 new court house was constructing during 1891, 

 to cost $100,000, and an opera house has been 

 completed, with seating capacity of 1,600. cost- 

 ing a similar amount. The Woman's Club is 

 erecting a building. There are several public 

 parks. A trotting association was formed in. 



