farms of those who owned the factories. These factories often moved locations. The town's brief foray into manufacturing came to a close by the twentieth century, with operations halting and entrepreneurs leaving for Waterbury, Naugatuck, Cheshire, or even New York. Given the town's rural nature and sparse population, modern amenities developed slowly in the town. A telephone line was run through the town in 1898, connecting New Haven and Waterbury, but it was not until 1904 that a telephone was installed in the town. Electrification took place in 1929, when service was established along Route 69. At this time, the Grange hall, the Congregational church, and three street lights made up the initial electric customers. The town made use of dirt roads until the 1920s, where they were upgraded to gravel roads. Other than the two state highways, none of the roads in the towns were paved until 1968, when Asphalt concrete roads began to be installed across the town. The town had a post office from 1830 to 1902, when it was closed and covered by rural delivery until a post office was reopened in 1962. The town has no publicly available sewer service, and all extant hookups are privately funded. Since 2002, there has been limited availability of public water line connections on some roads, which is provided by Connecticut Water. Most town residents and businesses rely on septic systems for discharge, and wells for water. Regulation of these systems is managed by Chesprocott, the regional health authority. Since the 1950s, the town has undergone a rapid period of suburbanization, as families fled the nearby city of Waterbury and other municipalities during the period of the national white flight. Between 1950 and 1969, 1,053 houses were built, which today makes up one third of Prospect's town housing. Today, 88.4% of the houses in the town have been built since 1950. Single family homes make up 90% of the housing stock in the town. In 1955, the "Black Friday Flood" inundated Naugatuck and Waterbury with flood waters, and Prospect became the primary evacuation center. Those who lost their homes found refugee in Prospect's Community School, where they received medical attention and temporary housing. This event helped to drive more residents to move to the town. In 1977, Lorne J. Acquin murdered several members of his extended family, it was the largest mass murder in Connecticut history until the Sandy