SHELTON

city, coextensive with the town (township) of Shelton, Fairfield county, southwestern Connecticut, U.S. It lies along the Housatonic River opposite Derby, about 10 miles (16 km) west of New Haven. The area was settled as part of Stratford about 1697, and in 1724 the parish of Ripton was organized. Renamed Huntington (for Governor Samuel Huntington), it was separately incorporated as a town in 1789. Industries expanded to include the manufacture of tacks, pins, textiles, and pianos after 1870, when power facilities were increased by the construction of the Derby (also called Housatonic) Dam on the Housatonic at Shelton. The borough of Shelton was incorporated in 1882 and named for Edward N. Shelton, industrialist and promoter of the dam project. In 1915 the borough was chartered as the city of Shelton, and in 1919 the town's name was changed to Shelton and town and city were consolidated. Shelton's diversified industries produce rubber, plastic, and metal products and electronic equipment. Pop. (1990) 35,418; (1996 est.) 37,180.