Beaverbrook, Connecticut

Beaverbrook or Beaver Brook, is an unincorporated area in the City of Danbury, Fairfield County, Connecticut.^[1]

Beaverbrook, Connecticut
Unincorporated area
Beaverbrook Chapel
Beaverbrook Location in Connecticut Show map of Connecticut Beaverbrook Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 41°24′40.34″N 73°25′11.44″W[1]
Country	United States
U.S. state	Connecticut
County	Fairfield
Region	Western CT
City	Danbury
Major highways

History

Map of Danbury (1867), Beaverbrook is mapped out on the right-hand side

The area is named after the stream, which flows north out of East Swamp in Bethel and connects with the Still River in East Danbury. References to Beaver Brook can be found from as far back as 1743, although many maps identify Beaver Brook as Limekiln Brook or East Swamp Brook.^[2]

Upstream, north of the confluence, is Beaver Brook Mountain, which extends from Danbury into Brookfield.^[3] The mountain was considered part of Danbury's Beaver Brook district until Brookfield was incorporated from Danbury in 1788.^[4] Despite the official incorporation, this particular area would still be recognized as Beaver Brook for years to come. Notably, the White Turkey Inn, which was established 28 years prior to Brookfield's incorporation,^[5] would continue to advertise as a Danbury locale.^[6]

Industry

1790 marks the start of Beaverbrook's industrial timeline, with the construction of the Beaver Brook paper manufacturing mill, which would later become the McArthur paper mill.^[7]: 120 Another noteworthy operation in Beaverbrook was the E. Sturdevant wool hat factory, which operated until it was destroyed by fire on August 31, 1873.^[7]: 235

To this day the area is considered a heavily industrial area.

• 
  Beaver Brook paper mill dam
• 
  Studevant Hat Factory

Geography

Beaverbrook borders the Stony Hill & Plumtrees sections of Bethel, the Beaver Brook Mountain section of Brookfield, as well as the Danbury neighborhoods of Great Plain, Germantown, and Shelter Rock.

Construction of I-84

Construction of the "Yankee Expressway" in Danbury divided the neighborhood, isolating the northernmost section of Beaverbrook (now Old Brookfield Rd. and the Danbury portion of Federal Rd. North).^[8] The project resulted in hundreds of displaced families.^[9]

Sites of interest

Bedoukian Bridge at the Still River Greenway

• John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant
• Still River Greenway