Most people passing though Derby are familiar with James B. Atwater because of the bridge over the Naugatuck River that bears his name. However, when one talks about "city fathers", James B. Atwater stands in the first ranks because of the many titles he wore in his efforts to make Derby the best possible place to live.

Born in a period of time that a biographer had to note that he was a "free born black", Horace Weston took the extraordinary musical talents learned from his father while growing up in Derby and made himself a world renowned banjo player. So good in fact that at various times he was called the "Hercules of the Banjo" and "...perhaps the greatest banjoist the world has ever heard."

He was born in Derby, but the living room from his New York home is on display at the Museum of New York City giving a clue of just how far in the world Stephen Whitney was to rise. He made his mark on the world through marketing skills that reportedly made him the second richest man in New York, a founder of New York University and the building of the home for the New York Stock Exchange.