(1) The area that encompasses the Naugatuck 
River Valley of Connecticut has made a unique con-
tribution to the cultural, political, and industrial de-
velopment of the United States. 
(2) The Naugatuck River Valley is comprised of 
14 communities along the Naugatuck River, which 
stretches for more than 40 miles from its head-
waters in Torrington, Connecticut, to the confluence 
with the Housatonic River in Shelton. The 14 mu-
nicipalities of Torrington, Harwinton, Litchfield, 
Plymouth/Terryville, Thomaston, Waterbury, Water-
town, Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Derby, Naugatuck, 
Oxford, Seymour, and Shelton, share common his-
torical elements, agricultural, trade, and maritime 
origins, similar architecture, common industries, an 
immigrant culture succeeding colonial beginnings, 
and a significant contribution to the war effort from 
the Revolutionary War to World War II. Most of 
these elements are still in evidence today. 
(3) Three major industries drove the manufac-
turing contribution of the Valley. As evidenced in 
the book, The Brass Industry in the United States, 
by William Lathrop, the brass industry was born in 
Connecticut’s Naugatuck River Valley and harnessed 
the power of the Naugatuck River and the skilled 
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immigrant workers who arrived from Germany, Ire-
land, Italy, and Poland. 
(4) The Naugatuck River Valley also spawned 
the birth of the rubber industry in the United States 
when Charles Goodyear developed the vulcanization 
process in 1839. Together with Samuel Lewis, a 
wealthy industrialist from Naugatuck, Connecticut, 
Goodyear parlayed his innovation into establishing 
the U.S. Rubber Company, making Naugatuck the 
rubber capital of the world. 
(5) The Naugatuck River Valley was also a 
major contributor to the success of the United 
States clock industry. Eli Terry designed inter-
changeable parts for his clocks assembled in 
Terryville. Renowned clockmaker Seth Thomas 
began making the first of millions of clocks in 
Thomaston, Connecticut, in 1813. His company con-
tinued until 1931 when it became a division of Gen-
eral Time Corporation (Timex). Other important in-
dustries included pens, evaporated milk, pianos and 
organs, corset stays, and cables. 
(6) The Naugatuck River Valley has been a 
major contributor to the United States war efforts 
from the American Revolution to the Civil War to 
World War II. In the 2007 PBS film ‘‘The War’’, 
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the story of the World War II directed and produced 
by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, the City of Water-
bury, Connecticut, was characterized as the ‘‘arse-
nal’’ of the war effort because of its high concentra-
tion of war industries. 
(7) The Naugatuck River Valley has been home 
to many great authors, diplomats, inventors and pa-
triots, such as David Humphreys, Aide-de-Camp to 
General George Washington and the first American 
ambassador; Commodore Isaac Hull, Commander of 
‘‘Old Ironsides’’ during the War of 1812; Ebenezer 
D. Bassett, the country’s first black ambassador; 
Dr. John Howe, inventor of a pin making machine 
that made the common pin a household necessity; 
and Pierre Lallement, inventor of the modern two- 
wheel bicycle. 
(8) The Naugatuck River Valley possesses a 
rich and diverse assemblage of architecturally sig-
nificant civic, industrial and residential structures 
and monuments dating from Colonial times to the 
present. There are 88 structures in the Naugatuck 
Valley included on the National Register of Historic 
Places. The first law school in America was built in 
Litchfield. Notable examples of the variety of archi-
tecture found in the Valley include Robert Wakeman 
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Hill’s brilliantly designed Thomaston Opera House 
and Town Hall; H.E. Ficken’s acoustically impres-
sive Sterling Opera House in Derby, site of appear-
ances by many nationally known performers; Water-
bury’s Clock Tower, designed by the renowned archi-
tectural firm of McKim, Mead & White which also 
designed four buildings in Naugatuck; Henry Bacon, 
designer of the Lincoln Memorial and two structures 
in Naugatuck; Torrington’s Warner Theatre, de-
signed by the prominent architect Thomas W. 
Lamb, and the Father McGivney Statue cast by Jo-
seph Coletti of Boston to honor the Waterburian 
who founded the Knights of Columbus. 
(9) The Naugatuck River Valley has been a 
melting pot for immigrant populations who have 
made significant contributions to the industrial, cul-
tural, and economic development of the Nation. 
(10) The Naugatuck River Valley possesses a 
group of public-spirited citizens dedicated to the 
preservation and promotion of the region’s natural, 
historic, and cultural heritage, and a passionate re-
solve to work together for the betterment of the Val-
ley and its residents. 
(b) STUDY.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte-
rior shall, in consultation with the State of Con-
necticut and appropriate organizations, carry out a 
study regarding the suitability and feasibility of es-
tablishing the Naugatuck River Valley National Her-
itage Area in Connecticut. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The study shall include anal-
ysis and documentation regarding whether the Study 
Area— 
(A) has an assemblage of natural, historic, 
and cultural resources that together represent 
distinctive aspects of American heritage worthy 
of recognition, conservation, interpretation, and 
continuing use, and are best managed through 
partnerships among public and private entities 
and by combining diverse and sometimes non-
contiguous resources and active communities; 
(B) reflects traditions, customs, beliefs, 
and folklife that are a valuable part of the na-
tional story; 
(C) provides outstanding opportunities to 
conserve natural, historic, cultural, or scenic 
features; 
(D) provides outstanding recreational and 
educational opportunities; 
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(E) contains resources important to the 
identified theme or themes of the Study Area 
that retain a degree of integrity capable of sup-
porting interpretation; 
(F) includes residents, business interests, 
nonprofit organizations, and local and State 
governments that are involved in the planning, 
have developed a conceptual financial plan that 
outlines the roles for all participants, including 
the Federal Government, and have dem-
onstrated support for the concept of a national 
heritage area; 
(G) has a potential management entity to 
work in partnership with residents, business in-
terests, nonprofit organizations, and local and 
State governments to develop a national herit-
age area consistent with continued local and 
State economic activity; and 
(H) has a conceptual boundary map that is 
supported by the public. 
(c) BOUNDARIES OF THE STUDY AREA.—The Study 
Area shall be comprised of sites in Torrington, Harwinton, 
Litchfield, Plymouth/Terryville, Thomaston, Waterbury, 
Watertown, Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Derby, Naugatuck, 
Oxford, Seymour, and Shelton, Connecticut. 
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(d) SUBMISSION
OF STUDY RESULTS.—Not later 
than 3 years after funds are first made available for this 
section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 
Senate a report describing the results of the study. 
Æ 
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