CULVER STREET / CULVER COURT
By Sandy Clark

Culver Street and Culver Court are located on the East Side of Naugatuck. Culver Street is located off Hill Street and parallel to Homestead Avenue. Culver Court connects Culver Street to Homestead Avenue.

Like many of the names prominent in Naugatuck history, the Culver name is traced back to the late 1700’s when Naugatuck was the south end of Waterbury.

Some time previous to 1780, Amos Culver and his wife Sarah settled in the area known as Beacon Hill Brook (located on what is now New Haven Road). Amos was a Revolutionary War Veteran and according to Anderson’s “History of Waterbury”, was a “lister” for Waterbury. A “lister” was a person who listed and assessed the Polls and Estates of a town.*

Amos and Sarah had four children, after Sarah died in 1795, Amos remarried. The widow Sally Hopkins became his new wife. Three children were born of that union, Suzanne in 1794, Josiah in 1799, and Ransom.

Josiah married Carrie Hotchkiss of Bethany, when they were both 19 years of age. They were the parents of 7 children, 3 of whom died in childbirth. The remaining four children, Lena, Fannie, Amos and Josiah Jr. grew to adulthood.

In 1825, Josiah acquired the Lewiston Schoolhouse, which was built in 1779. He had this old schoolhouse taken down and reassembled at the mouth of Beacon Hill Brook as a work place. It was here that Josiah Culver made household items that included buttons and mousetraps.

Josiah was prominent in local affairs and was appointed in 1828 Librarian of the Salem “Juvenile Library” which was an adjunct to the Salem Library, founded in 1783.

A store known as “Culver’s Store” was erected on the northeast corner of Main and Maple Streets. It was a brown two-story building. It was a typical New England Store where brown sugar, molasses and West India rum were sold along with other household merchandise. Fire destroyed the building in the spring of 1868. It was rebuilt by Josiah Jr. and Ransom Culver and finally razed in 1901. The Webster Building was erected here in 1906.

The names Josiah and Amos Culver continued to appear in Naugatuck history for many years. Josiah R Culver, son of Josiah and Carrie (Hotchkiss) Culver, owned property extending east from the river up past Hill St. His widow, according to the Naugatuck Directory, lived at 152 South Main Street until her death on December 2, 1922 at the age of 75.

Land known as “Culver’s Meadows” was located on the east bank of the river south of the Maple Street Bridge. It totaled 19 ½ acres. And was owned by brothers Amos and Josiah Culver and Harry S. Hotchkiss. This is the same parcel of land that the newly formed Chamber of Commerce purchased for $68,000 around 1916. It became known as “the Recreation Field” and later “Breen’s Field”.

In the 1920 Directory, Amos’ widow, Julia, is listed as living on 1 Culver Street. It would appear then, that Culver Street was planned in the early 1900’s and later occupied. In 1927 Andrew Culver opened “Culver Florist” at 184 Church Street in the Hopson Building. Today there are no more stores bearing the name Culver in Naugatuck, but the name and its legacy will not be forgotten.

Source - Naugatuck Historical Society Newsletter, September–October 2005 issue