Town of Beacon Falls

Facts about Beacon Falls

Town/City established:

• Incorporated June 30, 1871, taking lands primarily from the towns of Bethany and Oxford, with additional land from Naugatuck and Seymour.

Named from:

• Beacon Falls was named from a waterfall that was found along Beacon Brook in Bethany.

County:

• New Haven

Notable citizens (past and present):

• Thomas Sanford. Invented the process for wooden friction matches, and later sold the process to the Diamond Match Company.
• Tracy S. Lewis. Secretary and then-president of the Beacon Falls Rubber Show Company. Lewis brought the Olmsted brothers landscaping firm into the town to build a community/company town. Also, started the Beacon Falls Electric Company. Tracy Lewis and his father George sought and bought hundreds of immigrant workers from Europe to work in the shoe factory. The Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Company was famous for its "top notch" brand of shoes.

Top Five Attractions:

• Pent Road Recreation Complex.
• Matthies Park.
• Toby's Pond.
• Naugatuck River.
• Lantern Ridge.

Annual Visitor’s Events:

• Canoe & Kayak Race and Riverfest & Duck Race, May.
• Family Day, July.

Quality of the town/city:

• Beacon Falls is a small community of just over 6,000 residents located on the Naugatuck River in the middle of the Naugatuck Valley. It is a great community for those interested in passive recreation, canoeing, kayaking, fishing with the only recognized official access to the Naugatuck River in several locations.