- 1872 Waterbury Directory
- 1885 Waterbury Directory
- 1890 Waterbury Directory
- 1895 Waterbury Directory
- 1905 Waterbury Directory
- 1915 Waterbury Directory
- 1925 Waterbury Directory
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Waterbury City Directories are among the most important time capsules available for genealogy or local history research. The 'phone books' of their day, the first known Waterbury city directory was dated 1868-1869 and published by the company Webb & Fitzgerald (New York). During the next few years, a variety of publishers had been used to produce a record of city residents and businesses. Price, Lee & Company was first used in 1875 and would continue to produce an annual "Waterbury City Directory & Business Advertiser" for many decades to follow.
While differences exist in content and format from year to year, these directories are a valuable source for family and local historians. Among the items you may expect to find in each edition:
- Name and residence of adult male citizens and householder with occupation (some may list detail if moved away or died during previous year)
- Street directory, noting cross streets and geographic direction
- Listing of businesses by type, as well as advertisements elsewhere in the directory
- Clubs, social organizations, and institutions (many listing officers and members)
- Index of Deaths & Marriages that occurred during the prior year (early volumes only)
- Details of city government, officials, and population statistics
- Map of the city with outlines on different wards
The Silas Bronson Library has a complete collection of city directories on microfilm. The 40 microfilm rolls cover the period from 1868 through 1990 (except 1977, 1986, 1989). The physical volumes are no longer available for reference given their fragile condition.
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