The tannery and three active sawmills erected downstream consumed the finest pines and oaks for miles around to meet the needs of lumber production. In 1851, Milo Burr placed a dam across the confluence of several mountain streams impounding water for power. Torrington is home to several state parks, one of which is the very popular Burr Pond State Park. In 1955, a massive flood destroyed much of the downtown area and other property in the region when Hurricanes Connie and Diane caused local rivers to overflow. Torrington was chartered as a city in 1923. Between 18, Torrington's population soared from 3,000 to 22,000 as immigration from southern and eastern Europe increased most immigrants during this period were Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, and Italians. Torrington's growing industrial plants attracted English, Irish, and German immigrants throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Soon, Torrington was producing a variety of metal products, including needles, brass, hardware, bicycles, and tacks. In 1849, the Naugatuck Valley railroad was completed, connecting Torrington with other population centers, ending its isolation, and stimulating further industrial growth. This event sparked the beginning of the brass industry in Torrington, which later would spread throughout the entire Naugatuck Valley. Israel Coe and Erastus Hodges began the construction of two brass mills on the Naugatuck River in 1834. The mill attracted a large workforce and created demands for goods, services, and housing. Industrial growth skyrocketed when Frederick Wolcott constructed a woolen mill in 1813. The fast moving waters of the Naugatuck River were used to power early nineteenth-century industries. The town is named after Torrington in Devon, England. Torrington was given permission to organize a government and incorporate as a town in October 1740. Later, the eastern hill known as Torringford was settled, as it provided the best farmland. Its early settlers resided on the hills west of the Naugatuck River where the first school, church, store, and tavern were constructed. The downtown section of Torrington was known as Wolcottville, after the Wolcott family of Connecticut, which produced several governors between 18. Torrington was first settled in 1735 by Ebenezer Lyman, Jr., of Durham, Connecticut. In 2008, Torrington was named by Bizjournals as the number one "Dreamtown" ( micropolitan statistical area) out of ten in the United States to live in. Charlotte Hungerford Hospital has also developed into an important health care resource for the area. The Republican-American, which circulates a Litchfield County edition and has a bureau on Franklin Street, and The Register Citizen, which serves Torrington and Winsted, in addition to most of the Northwest Corner. Torrington has two radio stations, WAPJ 89.9 FM, operated by the non-profit Torrington Community Radio Foundation, and WSNG 610 AM, owned by Buckley Broadcasting. Downtown Torrington also hosts KidsPlay, a children's museum which was founded in 2012 and expanded their location in 2015 after purchasing the adjacent building. Elks Lodge #372 supports many community activities and events. Downtown Torrington hosts the largest Lodge of Elks in New England. Downtown Torrington is home to the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, which trains ballet dancers and whose Company performs in the Warner Theatre, a 1,700-seat auditorium built in 1931 as a cinema by the Warner Brothers film studio. Torrington is a former mill town, as are most other towns along the Naugatuck River Valley. The city is located roughly 23 miles (37 km) west of Hartford, 34 miles (55 km) southwest of Springfield, Massachusetts, 67 miles (108 km) southeast of Albany, New York, 84 miles (135 km) northeast of New York City, and 127 miles (204 km) west of Boston, Massachusetts. The city population was 35,515 according to the 2020 census. It is also the core city of Greater Torrington, one of the largest micropolitan areas in the United States. Torrington is the most populated municipality and largest city in Litchfield County, Connecticut and the Northwest Hills Planning Region.
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