CT045-P01 · Photographs · 1912
National Hat Factory, Danbury: 1912 postcard
Danbury’s Hat & Fur Industry
National Hat Factory, Danbury; photographic postcard mailed in 1912.
Read item & source notesCOLLECTION 045 · SGC-CT045-045
Danbury’s Hat & Fur Industry
Fairfield County · Industrial sites
Factory postcards and preservation research connect finished hats to the businesses that supplied their materials.
OPENING / FIRST RECORDED DATENineteenth-century industrial growth
FOUNDED / HISTORICAL PERIODNineteenth-century industrial growth
Historical factory collection; later uses differ by property
LOOK CLOSER · OPEN ANY IMAGE
The story in photographs
1912
National Hat Factory, Danbury: 1912 postcard
National Hat Factory, Danbury; photographic postcard mailed in 1912.
1911
Danbury hat factory: 1911 postcard
Danbury hat factory; photographic postcard postmarked 1911.
Published 1910–1911; copyright 1911. Individual camera date not stated.
The Blowing Room
Long rows of blowing machinery prepared and mixed fur before it was formed into hat bodies.
Image credit & source
Photographer not identified; David C. Mills, author; Lee-McLachlan Company, publisher / Library of Congress copy digitized by Internet Archive; Wikimedia Commons PDF mirror
Original source · Reuse termsPublished 1910–1911; copyright 1911. Individual camera date not stated.
The Forming Room
Workers stand beside forming machinery, where prepared fur began to take the conical shape of a hat body.
Image credit & source
Photographer not identified; David C. Mills, author; Lee-McLachlan Company, publisher / Library of Congress copy digitized by Internet Archive; Wikimedia Commons PDF mirror
Original source · Reuse termsPublished 1910–1911; copyright 1911. Individual camera date not stated.
Stiff Hat Sizing Room
Workers and equipment fill the department devoted to shrinking and felting stiff-hat bodies.
Image credit & source
Photographer not identified; David C. Mills, author; Lee-McLachlan Company, publisher / Library of Congress copy digitized by Internet Archive; Wikimedia Commons PDF mirror
Original source · Reuse termsPublished 1910–1911; copyright 1911. Individual camera date not stated.
Soft Hat Sizing Room
A separate sizing room handled soft hats; the photograph shows workers close to the wet processing equipment.
Image credit & source
Photographer not identified; David C. Mills, author; Lee-McLachlan Company, publisher / Library of Congress copy digitized by Internet Archive; Wikimedia Commons PDF mirror
Original source · Reuse termsPublished 1910–1911; copyright 1911. Individual camera date not stated.
Soft Hat Finishing Room
Rows of hat racks and workstations show the scale of finishing operations at the Lee-McLachlan factory.
Image credit & source
Photographer not identified; David C. Mills, author; Lee-McLachlan Company, publisher / Library of Congress copy digitized by Internet Archive; Wikimedia Commons PDF mirror
Original source · Reuse termsPublished 1910–1911; copyright 1911. Individual camera date not stated.
Soft Hat Trimming Room
Workers sit and stand along benches in the trimming room, where finishing components were added to hats.
Image credit & source
Photographer not identified; David C. Mills, author; Lee-McLachlan Company, publisher / Library of Congress copy digitized by Internet Archive; Wikimedia Commons PDF mirror
Original source · Reuse termsRead the full story of Danbury’s Hat & Fur Industry
COLLECTION HISTORY
The people behind the place.
Danbury’s hat industry depended on suppliers as well as hat makers. The White family’s Beaver Street operation processed fur for local manufacturers. After a fire in 1872, the plant was rebuilt; American Hatters & Furriers acquired and reactivated it in 1901. [CT045-S01]
The Beaver Street enterprise also supported glue manufacture using a byproduct of fur processing. This link helps explain how one industry could generate related businesses. The collection includes views of more than one Danbury factory, and each company name must be read from its own source. [CT045-S01]
The Beaver Street story begins before a finished hat reached a shop. Fur processors supplied material to hat makers, linking specialized businesses rather than placing every operation under one roof. The White family's plant, its rebuilding after the 1872 fire, and its 1901 acquisition by American Hatters & Furriers trace one thread within that wider network. Other Danbury factory photographs belong to other companies and remain separately identified. [CT045-S01]
Glue manufacture made use of a byproduct of fur processing. Photographs and promotional publications show the buildings and the claims their owners wished to present. They need to be paired with labor and environmental records for a fuller account of the industry. The absence of workers' names in a factory caption is a gap to investigate, not a reason to make the building the only historical actor. [CT045-S01]
HISTORICAL PERIODNineteenth-century industrial growth
SITE & COLLECTION STATUSHistorical factory collection; later uses differ by property
Fairfield County · 8 included photographs
Research edition: September 12, 2026
About this research edition. A selected, source-based research collection for New Haven and Fairfield counties. Includes credited photographs where reusable images were located, historical interpretation and links to supporting records. It is a growing inventory, not an exhaustive survey. Photographs retain their individual dates and reuse terms; images do not establish present access conditions.
THE SEARCHABLE CATALOG
Images, maps & original records
Search includes catalog notes and the OCR text included with this edition. OCR may misread names or dates; use the original scan to verify a match.
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CT045-P02 · Photographs · 1911
Danbury hat factory: 1911 postcard
Danbury’s Hat & Fur Industry
Danbury hat factory; photographic postcard postmarked 1911.
Read item & source notesED-IG-DAN-01 · Photographs · undated historic photograph; reproduced 2011-01-26
Hatters pressing straw hat bodies
Danbury’s Hat & Fur Industry
Workers press straw hat bodies in a Danbury factory, showing a branch of production different from fur-felt hatmaking.
Read item & source notesED-IG-DAN-02 · Photographs · circa 1940
Aerial view of the Mallory Hat Factory area
Danbury’s Hat & Fur Industry
An aerial view places the Mallory Hat Factory among Danbury's closely spaced industrial buildings.
Read item & source notes
ED-IG-DAN-03 · Photographs · Published 1910–1911; copyright 1911. Individual camera date not stated.
The Blowing Room
Danbury’s Hat & Fur Industry
Long rows of blowing machinery prepared and mixed fur before it was formed into hat bodies.
Read item & source notes
ED-IG-DAN-04 · Photographs · Published 1910–1911; copyright 1911. Individual camera date not stated.
The Forming Room
Danbury’s Hat & Fur Industry
Workers stand beside forming machinery, where prepared fur began to take the conical shape of a hat body.
Read item & source notes
ED-IG-DAN-05 · Photographs · Published 1910–1911; copyright 1911. Individual camera date not stated.
Stiff Hat Sizing Room
Danbury’s Hat & Fur Industry
Workers and equipment fill the department devoted to shrinking and felting stiff-hat bodies.
Read item & source notes
ED-IG-DAN-06 · Photographs · Published 1910–1911; copyright 1911. Individual camera date not stated.
Soft Hat Sizing Room
Danbury’s Hat & Fur Industry
A separate sizing room handled soft hats; the photograph shows workers close to the wet processing equipment.
Read item & source notes
ED-IG-DAN-07 · Photographs · Published 1910–1911; copyright 1911. Individual camera date not stated.
Soft Hat Finishing Room
Danbury’s Hat & Fur Industry
Rows of hat racks and workstations show the scale of finishing operations at the Lee-McLachlan factory.
Read item & source notes
ED-IG-DAN-08 · Photographs · Published 1910–1911; copyright 1911. Individual camera date not stated.
Soft Hat Trimming Room
Danbury’s Hat & Fur Industry
Workers sit and stand along benches in the trimming room, where finishing components were added to hats.
Read item & source notesContinue your research offline.
Extract the ZIP and open START_HERE.html. It includes the catalog, selected images, acquired source text, credits and a searchable SQLite database. New photo additions are hosted in the SGC media library and require an internet connection; original bundled images remain available offline.