I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5582 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a study regarding the 
suitability and feasibility of establishing the Naugatuck River Valley 
National Heritage Area in Connecticut, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. ESTY, Mr. HIMES, and Mr. 
LARSON of Connecticut) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a study 
regarding the suitability and feasibility of establishing 
the Naugatuck River Valley National Heritage Area in 
Connecticut, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Naugatuck River Val-
ley National Heritage Area Study Act’’. 
SEC. 2. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE STUDY REGARDING 
NAUGATUCK RIVER VALLEY, CONNECTICUT. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:04 Sep 29, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5582.IH
H5582
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(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 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:04 Sep 29, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5582.IH
H5582
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
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’’, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:04 Sep 29, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5582.IH
H5582
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS