Through all this period Waterbury men were busy as inventors. The first United States patent was granted to a descendant of a Water bury miller; the second was granted to a resi dent of Waterbury— in 17%. The number of patents issued to residents of Waterbury con tinues to be about double what might be ex pected from the population; or one annually for every 500 inhabitants. The city has six com mercial and seven savings banks.
Railroads and Transportation.— Electric cars run through the main streets and beyond the city limits in every direction to the neigh boring towns. The headquarters of the western division of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad are in Waterbury and ex press train service is given both to New York and Boston with local service on branches ex tending to Middletown, to New Haven and to Watertown. The electric trolley railway sys tem centring here serves 42 towns 'within a radius of 35 miles. The product of the Water bury manufacturers in the line of mailable goods is so immense that the business of the post office is exceptionally large. The money order business amounts to nearly a million dollars annually.
Water Supply, Lighting, etc.—The water supply is abundant and good. A reservoir was established on Fact Mountain in lP1g4, another on Cooke street in 1£41). the Wigwam Reservoir in 1901. and in 1909 the building of the Morris Reservoir on the nest branch of the Naugatuck, 11 miles north of the city, was begun. These reservoirs have a total capacity of over 5.000,000 gallons of water. There are 95 miles of water pipe. A sewerage system was introduced in 1813, hut the discharge of sewage into the river was strongly objected to by per.ons and estab hclunents located below the outfalls In August 1904 the city began the bnilding of a trunk sewer, and a sewage plant miles down the valley. The city h. s her,, lighicd by has since 1854. Electric lights were introduced in 1884, and were substituted for gas lights on the public streets not long after. Since 1904 the current which supplies the lights and also furnishes the motive power of the trolley sys tem is brought across the country from the Housatonic River.
Streets, Parks, Buildings, The city is divided into four sections, as the town has been from its settlement, by two main streets, one running east and west, the other nearly north and sou*. There is also an informal di vision into districts, some of which represent the school districts of the earlier time. The
most important of these are Brooklyn, Water ville, Hopeville and Bunker HilL At the inter section of the main streets there is a central park or green, adorned with stately elms, at one end of which stands an elaborate soldiers' monu ment (erected in 1885, by popular subscription), and at the other end a handsome drinking fountain. The development of Hamilton and Chase Parks—valuable gifts to the city— was begun in 1903. Centre square and Union square are attractively laid out. The public buildings worthy of mention are the courthouse, the post office, the Bronson Library, Second Con gregational Church, Saint John's Church (Epis copal), Saint Patrick's Church (R.C.), the building of the Young Men's Christian Associa tion, the Girls' Industrial Scbool, the Lilley building, the Citizens' Bank, the Elton Hotel and the Buckingham building, Saint Anne's Church (R.C.). The municipal building adjoin ing Library Park cost $600P00. There are Z3 theatres. The union railway station is modern and commodious. The Chase Interests, Inc., have just built an edifice costing approximately $1,000,000, to be used for office purposes.
Education, School affairs were at first conducted by the town, and afterward by a •school society,* which divided the town into 14 districts. In 1849, chiefly with a view to establishing a high school (the old academy having suffered a decline), five of the districts were incorporated as a centre district, under the management of a board of education, a finance committee and a superintendent of schools,— leaving a circle of outlying districts under the old management (a board of school visitors). In 1899 the bound; of the city were extended and made coterminous with those of the centre district, and the earlier and somewhat cumbrous organization was superseded by a department of education, consisting of the mayor and a board of seven members. In 1917 the board consisted of the mayor and nine members, three members being elected for terms of six years each. When, in 1902, the city was finally made coterminous with the town, the traditional status of the outlying districts was preserved. The districts have since practically been abolished. The investment in public schools exceeds $3,0(10,000.