Hatting

According to local folklore, in town there lived a man named Zadoc Benedict, who had plugged a hole in his shoe with some fur and subsequently discovered that friction and sweat had transformed it into felt. Applying his Yankee ingenuity, Benedict used his bedpost to mold felt into hats. After opening a shop on Main Street around 1780, his initial output was a mere three hats a day.

Whatever the truth behind this story, hatting developed in Danbury partly because of a ready supply of natural resources, most notably water, and by 1800, Danbury was producing more hats than any place else in the United States. By 1887, some 30 factories which had sprung up in the city were manufacturing five million hats a year. "The Hat Capital of the World," as it was called, was indisputably living by the words of its motto: "Danbury crowns them all."

Costly labor disputes and financial reversals resulted in many factories ceasing operations or moving elsewhere. By 1923, only six hat manufacturers were left in Danbury. Changing fashions contributed to the ongoing decline in the hatting industry. By 1965, Stetson Co. stopped operations at the Mallory Back Shop.

Today, the hatting industry has vanished from "The Hat Capital," but its impact upon the entire region is captured by the exhibit periodically open to the public in the Dodd shop. This exhibit features in detail the processes used in hat production and the variety of straw, silk, and wool hats manufactured.

Originally, hats were formed by using hand tools. a huge tub of hot water, and a plank bench. Subsequently, forming machines were developed for shaping the hoods or cones, which were then sent to the backshop for shrinking, blocking, and sizing. The finishing touches (including the trim) were added in the front shop.

Fisher, Leonard Everett "The Hatters

Dodd Hat Shop

Anyan, Sally J. "Danbury's Hatting Industry. "Hatting in Danbury." pub. by Danbury Scott-Fanton Museum and Historical Society

Danbury Museum & Historical Society

43 Main Street
Danbury, CT 06810

Phone: (203) 743-5200

Revised May 7, 2011

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