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Shelton, Connecticut: Wiffle Balls and a Housatonic Waterfall

Shelton, Connecticut

Pictures from Shelton

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The former Star Pin Company mill Indian Well State Park at sunset The Housatonic River near downtown Shelton

Shelton was settled in 1639 as part of Stratford, going by the names Coram and Ripton before it was set off on its own — incorporated in 1789 as Huntington, renamed Shelton in 1882 for industrialist Edward N. Shelton, and reaching city status in 1915; the city and town of Huntington consolidated in 1919, which is why "Huntington" survives today only as a neighborhood name. Sitting at the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers, Shelton's dam-and-canal waterpower system once drove factories making, as Connecticut Humanities puts it, everything "from pins to pianos." The Wiffle Ball, introduced in Shelton in 1953 by David N. Mullany, is still made there today. Harvey Hubbell, who patented the pull-chain light socket in 1896, founded the company still headquartered in Shelton as Hubbell Incorporated.

  1. A riverfront park with a waterfall and swimming beach.

  2. A pick-your-own farm and winery.

  3. A riverside park on the former Sponge Rubber plant site.

  4. A Saturday market of verified growers.

  5. A classic Connecticut diner.

  6. Downtown coffee with vegan and vegetarian prep.

  7. Three styles of pizza on Bridgeport Avenue.

  8. A 142-room full-service hotel.

Pins to pianos, and a 1975 arson

Shelton's waterpower system, built out in the 1860s by Edward N. Shelton's Ousatonic Water Power Company, drove factories that made everything from pins to pianos. The 1975 fire at the Sponge Rubber Products plant, one of the largest arson fires in U.S. history and set for insurance money, marked the start of the town's industrial decline; the 10-acre Riverwalk Park now occupies the former plant site along Canal Street, next to the adjacent Veterans Memorial Park's monuments to WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the USS Thresher and the Civil War.

Getting there

Shelton is a drive-to town on Route 8, which leaves I-95 in Bridgeport, meets the Merritt Parkway in Trumbull, briefly clips Stratford, then serves Shelton's business parks before crossing the Housatonic toward Ansonia, Seymour and Waterbury. There is no rail station inside Shelton; the nearest, Metro-North's Derby-Shelton stop just across the Housatonic, has its rail service replaced by buses from July 20, 2026 through May 31, 2027 while the station is rebuilt with a new 350-foot accessible platform, expected to open in November 2027.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get to Shelton?
By car on Route 8, which meets the Merritt Parkway in Trumbull and I-95 in Bridgeport. There is no train station in Shelton itself.
Is there a train near Shelton?
The closest option, Derby-Shelton on the Waterbury Branch, has its rail service replaced by buses from July 20, 2026 through May 31, 2027 during a station rebuild; the new platform is expected to open in November 2027.
Can I still see the Star Pin Company mill?
No — the historic 1875 mill on Canal Street burned down in June 2020. It survives only in photographs.
What is Jones Family Farms & Jones Winery?
A multi-property working farm with a pick-your-own calendar (strawberries in June, blueberries in July, pumpkins in fall, Christmas trees in December) and a winery tasting room in a former dairy barn. No street address is published — check the farm's site before visiting.
Is there a hotel in Shelton?
Yes — the Hilton Garden Inn Shelton, 25 Old Stratford Road, with 142 rooms, an indoor pool and an on-site restaurant.

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