Torrington

TORRINGTON Named in 1732 for Torrington in Devonshire, England, this was one of the townships of the Western Lands allotted to Windsor. Since the early settlers were taxpayers in that town, their shares in the division of land depended upon the amount of taxes paid to Windsor. Torrington was incorporated as a town in 1740 and became a city on October 1, 1923. Industries were established on the banks of the Naugatuck River and smaller streams, among them the manufacture of brass, needles, tacks, hooks and eyes, woolen cloth, and millwork. John Brown, noted for his efforts to abolish slavery in the Civil War era, and Samuel J. Mills, Jr., founder in 1810 of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, were born in Torrington. In 1856 Gail Borden was granted a patent for the "process of evaporating milk in vacuum." In the following year he began the manufacture of condensed milk in the Burrville section of town. The economy of Torrington remains largely industrial, with many of the earlier products continued and supplemented in modern form.