Danbury, Connecticut  Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City, making it part of the New York metropolitan area. Danbury's population at the 2010 census was 80,893. The city is named for Danbury in Essex, England. It is nicknamed the "Hat City" because for a period in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries it was the center of the American hat industry. The mineral danburite is named for Danbury. Danbury is home to Danbury Hospital, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury Fair Mall and Danbury Municipal Airport. In November 2015, "USA Today" ranked Danbury as the second best city to live in the United States. Danbury was settled by colonists in 1685, when eight families moved from what are now Norwalk and Stamford, Connecticut. The Danbury area was then called "Pahquioque" by its namesake, the Algonquian-speaking Pahquioque Native Americans (they are believed to have been a band of the Paugusset people), who occupied lands along the Still River. Bands were often identified by such geographic designation but they were associated with the larger nation by culture and language). One of the original English settlers was Samuel Benedict, who bought land from the Paquioque in 1685, along with his brother James Benedict, James Beebe, and Judah Gregory. This area was also called Paquiack ("open plain" or "cleared land") by the Paquioque. In recognition of the wetlands, the settlers chose the name Swampfield for their town. In October 1687, the general court decreed the name Danbury. The general court appointed a committee to lay out the new town's boundaries. A survey was made in 1693, and a formal town patent was granted in 1702. During the American Revolution, Danbury was an important military supply depot for the Continental Army. Sybil Ludington, 16-year-old daughter of American Colonel Henry Ludington, made a 40-mile ride in the early hours of the night on April 26, 1777, to warn the people of Danbury and her father's forces in Putnam County, New York, of the approach of British regulars, helping them gather in defense. During the following day on April 26, 1777, the British, under Major General William Tryon, burned and looted Danbury, but fatalities were limited due to Ludington's warning. The central motto on the seal of the City of Danbury is "Restituimus", (Latin for "We have restored"), a reference to the destruction caused by the Loyalist army troops.