[Thruway]

I've driven through Beacon Falls on Route 8 the past few weeks and I gotta say...coming from Trumbull...wow.

Does anybody else get the sense that Beacon Falls entering from the south seems like you've entered Appalachia/West Virginia?
I mean this as no offense, but not only does it seem to be REALLY rural (odd given it is in New Haven County, not far from Waterbury/New Haven/Bridgeport all cities with over 100,000), but it seems to at least from the landscape and architecture to just have that Western PA feel to it.

It just seems like a place were HS football and nascar/hunting is life...just from the overall view from the road...and to me it is amazing because it's 20 miles from Trumbull, CT and within a 30 min from three cities with over 100,000.

Even odder is that on the Route 8 Bridgeport-Waterbury route....all the towns there seem to have some developement, which makes sense because their suburbs overlap....yet Beacon Falls despite being just two towns from Waterbury has NOTHING.

It would make sense if this were say in extreme NW CT...but right on this line?

Does anybody else get this sense and can anybody how/why Beacon Falls has the characteristics of being so rural/applachia it has given it's realtive location to big cities?

[renovating]

Wow, you got all that from driving route 8 .

How long was did it take you to pass thru Beacon Falls on route 8....maybe 45 seconds???

[JayCT]

Up until the Route 8 expressway was connected to the Merritt Parkway in the early 80's, the Naugatuck River valley was not much more than a collection of old rundown mill towns. Beacon Falls had a really smelly rubber plant. Once the highway was connected, it opened the entire valley up to development and changes in attitudes. I believe the Beacon Falls is the last town to feel the influence and has yet to be discovered. Of course with time that will change. Jay

[Uconn97]

Actually there has been quite a bit of building in beacon falls in recents years so I wouldn't say its exactly undiscovered. Also, to the OP - you should really explore a town before you pass judgement. Did you know that one of the old mills in Beacon Falls are very nice condos and have been for years and that many younger, professional couples live there?

One of my best friends family lives in beacon falls and I have been there at least a dozen times. I find it quaint and unassuming. they live in a turn of the century bungalow that reeks of charm (stone porch, elaborate moldings, etc). I guess these days thats a bad thing right?

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Uconn97

Actually there has been quite a bit of building in beacon falls in recents years so I wouldn't say its exactly undiscovered. Also, to the OP - you should really explore a town before you pass judgement. Did you know that one of the old mills in Beacon Falls are very nice condos and have been for years and that many younger, professional couples live there?

One of my best friends family lives in beacon falls and I have been there at least a dozen times. I find it quaint and unassuming. they live in a turn of the century bungalow that reeks of charm (stone porch, elaborate moldings, etc). I guess these days thats a bad thing right?

I was going to chime in and say the exact same thing before I read your response.

Beacon Falls is a pretty suburban community, hardly rural at all. The stretch along RT 8 is near the Naugatuck State Forest which is protected land, and the rural town of Bethany is a stone's throw from downtown Beacon Falls, so that's probably what you see up in the hills from the highway. Lots of building has been going on in Beacon Falls, so it certainly has not gone undiscovered. And the town is not cheap, either. Most of the neighborhoods are suburban, some with sidewalks, and it's very close to major shopping areas. The town just isn't large enough to accommodate a grocery chain or McDonald's - why put them there if all of the residents can travel to neighboring towns to do their shopping within 5-10 minutes?

RT 8 through Beacon Falls is very decieving. It is actually IMO one of the most beautiful rides in the country as it snakes along the Naugatuck River in between mountains. Appalaicha? Hardly. But I can see how one who isn't familiar with the area would think that in the 60 seconds it takes to pass through.

Oh well, lots of people in CT are snobs. If it's not a leafy, storybook community with pressure-cooker schools, it's a dump.

Originally Posted by JayCT

Up until the Route 8 expressway was connected to the Merritt Parkway in the early 80's, the Naugatuck River valley was not much more than a collection of old rundown mill towns. Beacon Falls had a really smelly rubber plant. Once the highway was connected, it opened the entire valley up to development and changes in attitudes. I believe the Beacon Falls is the last town to feel the influence and has yet to be discovered. Of course with time that will change. Jay

I would actually say Ansonia and Derby are the last towns along RT 8 to experience this change in attitudes. Folks looking northward for a nice community completely bypass these two towns.

[ct4life]

There's a LOT of new development down route 42 towards Bethany and then several new neighborhoods up Skokorat Rd towards Seymour. I still consider it a typical "Valley" town though. It just has that stigma.

[Thruway]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Up until the Route 8 expressway was connected to the Merritt Parkway in the early 80's, the Naugatuck River valley was not much more than a collection of old rundown mill towns. Beacon Falls had a really smelly rubber plant. Once the highway was connected, it opened the entire valley up to development and changes in attitudes. I believe the Beacon Falls is the last town to feel the influence and has yet to be discovered. Of course with time that will change. Jay

Hey I didn't mean this as a snob at all.
Just weird because all the other towns on RT 8 have some developement but Beacon Falls has NONE.
I have driven through West Virginia and frankly the scene there reminds just like that of Beacon Falls...this was some random remark.

Why has Beacon Falls maintained a rural scenery compared to the other towns?
Is it still rural?
Is it pretty redneckish?

[JViello]

Originally Posted by Thruway

Hey I didn't mean this as a snob at all.
Just weird because all the other towns on RT 8 have some developement but Beacon Falls has NONE.
I have driven through West Virginia and frankly the scene there reminds just like that of Beacon Falls...this was some random remark.

Why has Beacon Falls maintained a rural scenery compared to the other towns?
Is it still rural?
Is it pretty redneckish?

It's full of banished Bostonians who are Yankee fans.

[7 Wishes]

I've driven up that way and yeah it does "look" a little like some towns in upstate NY I've passed going to see my sister in the Buffalo area.

But two things:

1) There a pretty big state park/forest preserve that rt. 8 goes thru right next to it, which that alone would make it look more "rural" than it may be.

2) A lot of otherwise "suburban" areas have a town or two that looks like that because it historically was that way and even with a change in residents they left the look and character. Going closer to NYC, one town in Westchester County like that that sticks in my mind is Verplanck, on the Hudson River between Peekskill and Croton-on-Hudson. In adjacent Rockland County, the town of Sloatsburg would fit the bill.

[Uconn97]

Originally Posted by jviello

it's full of banished bostonians who are yankee fans.

lol :d