Danbury's Third Century Research Collection

Herbert Janick, PhD and William Devlin are two WCSU affiliated historians and co-authors of “Danbury’s Third Century: From Urban Status to Tri-Centennial”. Founder of the Danbury Preservation Trust in 1979, Dr. Janick has been instrumental in raising historical awareness among public audiences. For nearly thirty years, Dr. Janick taught history at Western Connecticut State University until his retirement in 1998. As professor emeritus, Dr. Janick wrote “A People's University: The Centennial History of Western Connecticut State University” and continued teaching courses in urban history at WCSU until 2007. Shortly after, Dr. Janick was asked to help complete “Danbury’s Third Century”. Three local historians, Steven Collins, Truman Warner, and Clarice Oseicki, all passed away in succession while in the process of writing this book. Danbury’s Tercentennial Commission members, Mary Ann Frede and Barbara Susnitzky, remained committed to see the completion and publication of this book. However, Dr. Janick would not take the project alone and recruited William Devlin to co-author the book. Devlin, an adjunct professor at WCSU and active member of the Danbury Preservation Trust, wrote “We Crown Them All”, a comprehensive illustrated history Danbury.

Completed in 2013 and published by Western Connecticut State University, “Danbury’s Third Century” covers Danbury's transition from the 19th century through its tri-centennial. Confronting and exploring the City's class and race issues, urban development and redevelopment, industry and labor, real estate, social upheaval, and salient issues during this period.