Author to speak at Shelton Historical Society annual meeting

SHELTON - At the annual meeting of the Shelton Historical Society Jan. 28, author and photographer Emery Roth II will discuss his book, Brass Valley: The Fall of an American Industry.   

      The meeting will be held at 2 p.m. at the Huntington Congregational Church Fellowship Hall, 19 Church St.

In this ode to Connecticut’s Naugatuck River Valley, vibrant photos and moving poetry relate the region’s legendary industrial history and ponder its legacy.  

        The story begins in 1802, when two metalworking families joined forces to manufacture brass.  

        Business soared during the War of 1812 with the demand for buttons, and soon brass 

parts became essential in the age of steam and electricity. As large-scale brass manufacturing grew across what became known as the Brass Valley, mill towns along the river, such as Torrington and Waterbury, developed into thriving cultural centers. This continued until 2014, when the last plant closed, and the tradition of soot-covered workers charging generations-old furnaces came to an end.  

        This poignant elegy captures the glowing metal flying through the air at the Ansonia foundry in its final days, as well as abandoned opera houses and train tracks, the vestiges of a dying infrastructure and American way of life.  So many of the mill towns in the area shared this common history, employing proud members of the respective communities, including those in Shelton.

Brass Valley: The Fall of an American Industry will be available to purchase. 

There will be a brief business meeting prior to the presentation. 

        The meeting is free and open to the public; donations are welcome. Refreshments will be served.  

         In case of inclement weather, please refer to the Shelton History Center’s Facebook page. 

    The Shelton Historical Society owns Shelton History Center, a complex of six historic buildings located just north of the Huntington Green, and strives to provide programs of historical interest to the community.   

     The Brownson House displays the 1913 lifestyle of a middle-class farm family while the Wilson Barn exhibits the 300-year history of Shelton. There is a one-room school and a carriage barn containing horse-drawn vehicles as well.  

      Shelton Historical Society maintains its collections, which include newspaper clippings, business ledgers, personal diaries and letters, scrapbooks, and artifacts at Shelton History Center.  

   For more information call 203-925-1803 or visit www.sheltonhistoricalsociety.org.

        This is a press release from Tracey Tate, executive director, Shelton Historical Society.