Danbury

If you drive through Danbury, you might not think much of the little town, whose flat land boasts a small handful of businesses, a library and post office, three schools and a gas station with just two pumps alongside its homes before it peters out into pastures, farmland and rural houses. It’s when you get out of your car and begin talking to folk that you’ll discover what makes Danbury so special to the less than 2,000 people who call it home. “There’s nothing special about its beauty or anything, it’s all about the people and the availability of good jobs and coming home to a nice, quiet place. It’s a little town with a big heart,” says Bob Peltier, the broker and owner of Bob Peltier & Associates Real Estate with over 40 years of experience in the business. “Everybody knows everybody. My family has been in Danbury for five generations. In a lot of towns, people grow up and they leave, but in Danbury, generations grow up and want to stay.” Once a farming community, some farmland has been converted into houses and solar farms, with many residents working at nearby chemical plants.

Danbury’s little town is comprised of neat streets that look like they were sketched right on top of graph paper’s lines. They lack sidewalks and eventually peter out into open rural roads. Toward the town center, its ranch-style and colonial-style homes typically sit on under an acre, but venturing out into its more rural sections yields properties with between 1 acre and 10 acres. According to Peltier, a starter home with less land starts at around $100,000, while buying a house out in the country with a bit of acreage can cost as much as $650,000. “If a house comes up there, it’s going to sell,” Peltier says. “It will always sell, even if it’s not much.”

According to Peltier, the Danbury Independent School District is a major benefit that townsfolk and potential homebuyers love. “It’s the last good small school district,” Peltier says, adding that some parents send their kids specifically to these schools for the extra attention they get there. “There are some other schools in the area that are considered small, but they’re nothing like Danbury small.” Children start out at Danbury Elementary School and Danbury Middle School, both of which have B ratings on Niche and student-to-teacher ratios of 13:1. Danbury High School has a B-minus and an even smaller student-to-teacher ratio of 10:1. Students can participate in sports, the student newspaper and computer science or future health professionals clubs.

Residents often take advantage of Skrabanek Park’s playground and swing set, and local baseball practices and games are held at Danbury Baseball Complex. Danbury’s six lakes, which are stocked with Florida bass, are a popular destination for townsfolk and people from the surrounding areas looking to fish and hunt waterfowl.

Head to Main Street Steakhouse & Bar for country cooking, banana pudding and live country music or enjoy a quieter meal of fried shrimp at Flipp’s Café before stopping at Two Czech Chicks Kolache Shoppe & Bakery for a sweet treat. Residents can pick up a few essentials at Dollar General, but most drive 7 miles to Angleton for groceries. The community gathers for yearly events like the Brazoria County Fair and a huge fundraising auction at a local church, which also features games and a barbeque. Danbury might not stay a little town forever. “I do think change is in the wind, but it’ll be a while,” Peltier says. “Houston is rolling down on us like the tide coming in. The 99 Grand Parkway is coming in between Danbury and Alvin, and it’s probably going to bring a lot of change. All the highways leading into that part of Brazoria County are all receiving major rehauls right now anticipating what’s going to happen when they bring 99 in.” No matter how it changes, though, a piece of Danbury will always remain the same—just as it has through its recent changes. “The soul of Danbury is still there, even though it’s changed,” Peltier says. “It’s still a very special place. At least, when you grow up there, it’s the biggest place in the world.”

Written By

Christina Norwood

Photography Contributed By

Brandon Fox

Video By

Jarrod Bock