Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Ansonia Mfg. Co. 1893-1962
• Penn-Union Electric Corporation 1962-Unknown

Use (Historic)

• Electrical Equipment
• Fabricated Metal Products

Largest Documented Workforce

500 (1918)

Historic Narrative

The Ansonia Manufacturing Company was founded by Charles H. Jockmus in 1893. A clockmaker by trade, Jockmus was born in Middleville, New York on September 17, 1861 and worked for the Seth Thomas Clock Company in Thomaston, Connecticut, and at the Ansonia Clock Company’s Brooklyn, New York, factory before he moved to Ansonia to take a job with the Phelps and Bartholomew Company in 1881. In 1893 Jockmus established the Ansonia Manufacturing Company, a firm that initially produced watches and clocks, and later specialized in brass goods and screw machine products. The company was the town’s second to adopt this moniker, as the Ansonia Copper and Brass Company carried the name from 1845 until 1869. Jockmus’ manifestation of the Ansonia Manufacturing Company started work with 15 employees and initially operated within rented manufacturing space located along the Ansonia Land and Water Power Company’s canal, which ran parallel to Main Street. A dedicated plant was constructed between the west bank of the Naugatuck River and Maple Street, an area known as ‘the Flats,’ in 1906. This consisted of a two-story reinforced concrete and steel structure measuring roughly 60 feet by 248 feet. By 1911 a one-story 50-foot by 130-foot reinforced concrete and steel addition had been added to this, the machine shop and assembly areas then located in the main block, and a stock room, dipping and cleaning room, plating room, buffing room, and powerhouse located in the new wing. The 1911 Sanborn maps indicate that by that year nickel plated goods had been added to the company’s resume alongside its brass wares. This likely required increased employment levels and supported the need for the aforementioned factory expansion. The workforce peaked during the First World War, at which time the company’s approximately 500 employees were dedicated to munitions production. One of the most tragic moments in the company’s history took place during this period when on May 18, 1916 some 200 striking workers clashed with a force of 75 special deputy sheriff, police, and armed guards. Rumors that strike-breakers were to be brought in to restore production roused the strikers to violence and they threw rocks and bricks through the factory’s windows. Shots rang out in response and subsequently one striker was killed and four were wounded. The actions quelled the hostilities as the strikers fled across the river and although the company remained closed for several more days, workers returned to their posts the following week. Despite the onset of the Great Depression, and then the death of founder and president Charles H. Jockmus in 1931, the company continued to diversify its product line in an effort to seek out new markets. By 1930 this had already included producing radio equipment and loud speakers, notable among them being the ‘Mohawk’ loudspeaker, which was invented by Jockmus. Like most Connecticut manufacturing firms, however, the Great Depression had a significant impact on both production and employment levels and in 1930 the company was forced to impose a ten percent wage reduction as a result of the economic situation. By 1936 the firm’s workforce had been reduced to under 200. This did not rebound until the Second World War when the firm was again called upon to support the nation’s war efforts. The company was included among some 130 Connecticut plants honored with Army-Navy ‘E’ awards by January 1945, whereupon employment at the firm had bounced back to between 301 and 400 workers. By the time the company was bought out by the Penn-Union Electric Corporation of Eire, Pennsylvania in 1962, employment had dropped to 125 persons. Today the former Ansonia Manufacturing Company plant houses several small manufacturing firms.

Number of Existing Buildings

Six (6) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1906, 1906-1911, 1911-1924, ca. 1938, 1965-1990

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

The former Ansonia Manufacturing Company factory complex was built in phases starting in 1906. The building’s main – and original – block is a two-story reinforced concrete and steel flat-roofed structure measuring roughly 60 feet by 248 feet. The block is oriented with its façade (east elevation) facing Riverside drive and is 6 bays wide and 23 bays deep. Multi-pane hopper windows with steel sash fill the large bays, which are framed by full-height reinforced concrete columns embossed with a pattern that give them the appearance of having been constructed with stone blocks. On the north side of the 1906 block is a one-story 50-foot by 130-foot reinforced concrete and steel addition, built c. 1911. Its east elevation is obscured by a concrete block loading area constructed between 1911 and 1924, while a modern one-story reinforced concrete addition wraps around its north and west sides. Another addition, this built between 1934 and 1950, adjoins the 1906 block’s west elevation. It is similar in style to the latter yet is only one story in height. The final structure associated with the former Ansonia Manufacturing Company factory complex is a one-story office building erected adjacent to the southeast corner of the 1906 block circa 1938. The office is of Art Moderne styling and has an irregular footprint, reinforced concrete walls, and a stepped parapet. The façade (east elevation) is particularly notable for its recessed entry flanked by curved glass block window walls and fluted pilasters.

Exterior Material(s)

• Concrete

Structural System(s)

• Structural Concrete
• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Flat

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Good, Fair, Deteriorated

Condition Notes

All portions of the building are in generally good condition.

Specific Location

Two legal parcels (1 and 3 Riverside Drive) totaling 3.61 acres to the west of Riverside Drive and east of Maple Street.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 03300030000 (for record, use link and type in address or parcel number) / Link →
• 03300020000 (for record, use link and type in address or parcel number) / Link →

Acreage

3.61

Use (Present)

• Industrial

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

10/27/2014

Bibliography

1. Ansonia City Directories, 1881-1965.
2. Federal Census Records, 1880, 1890, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940.
3. List of Connecticut Manufacturers, 1924, 1936, 1939.
4. Industrial Directory of Connecticut, 1945, 1947.
5. Sanborn Map Company, 1884-1950.
6. The Hartford Courant, 1916-1962.