Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Aspinook Co. 1893-1937
• Aspinook Corp. 1938-1959
• Wyre-Wynd, Inc. 1964-ca. 2009

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products
• Textiles

Largest Documented Workforce

600 (1929)

Historic Narrative

The Aspinook Company was organized by Moses Pierce, of Norwich, Connecticut, for the purpose of bleaching, dying, printing, and finishing cotton textiles in June 1893. The site of the plant, along the east bank of the Quinebaug River, was purchased by the firm from the Johnson family, and work on a substantial stone dam and adjoining factory was immediately initiated by a force of some 200 men. By August 1893, the construction force numbered 480 hands, a testament to the company’s desire to complete the work in a timely manner. Once completed, the new Aspinook Company mill comprised over half-a-dozen buildings staffed by several hundred workers. This force was led by Moses Pierce, president, and O.L. Johnson Jr., also of Norwich, serving as secretary and treasurer. The firm had an initial capitalization of $350,000, yet by the turn of the century was valued at over $500,000. This was further increased to $1,000,000 in 1922. By the late-1920s, the company’s success had necessitated a fourfold increase in the overall size of its plant and expansion of its workforce to upwards of 600 hands. Even the onset of the Great Depression appears to have had little substantial impact on activities at the plant as it remained in full operation in 1931 when new machinery was installed to treat fabrics with a “secret fabric treatment” developed by the Hydropel Process Company of Boston, Massachusetts, which resulted in water, dirt, and soot repellency. The firm’s confidence in this period is illustrated by the fact that a 7.5 percent wage increase was granted in 1933, followed by further 10-percent increase in March of the following year. This resilience, however, could not overcome the lingering impacts of both the depression and increased foreign competition in the textile industry and wage cuts were initiated in August 1934. The reductions were met with immediate opposition from the company’s workforce, which began a general strike that completely shut down the plant. Although work resumed in October 1934, management of the Aspinook Company appears to have been soured by the event and a slow transfer of the firm’s machinery and production to new facilities in the South subsequently took place between October 1934 and November 1937 when the Jewett City plant was finally liquidated. The importance of the Aspinook mill to the local community was of such significance, however, that members of the community joined with local businessmen to raise the capital required to purchase and reinstate the plant. Over $100,000 of the requisite total of $600,000 was raised by local residents by the end of January 1938, and in February 1938 the property was handed over to the newly-organized Aspinook Corporation, which was led by William Broadfoot, president; Viggi Carlson, vice president and sales manager; and G.B Schwab, treasurer, all of Jewett City. Although the firm passed through numerous mergers through the 1940s and 1950s, the local acquisition in 1938 allowed the textile plant to remain in operation for another 20 years. The mill was eventually closed by the U.S. Finishing Company in 1959, yet was partially reoccupied as a wire mill by Wyre-Wynd, Inc. in 1964. A massive fire destroyed a substantial portion of the plant in December 1969, however, Wyre-Wynd, Inc. continued to operate sections of the plant until ca. 2009.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly eighteen (18) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1893, ca. 1920, ca. 1930, ca. 1970, ca. 1995.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Aspinook Company mill is a sprawling complex comprised of approximately 18 primary adjoining and detached buildings located at the northern terminus of Anthony Street and along the east bank of the Quinebaug River. The plant stands directly west of a rail line formerly operated by the Norwich and Worcester Railroad, and immediately south of Aspinook Pond, the latter formed by a 475’-wide stone dam that originally powered the plant and which is currently used to produce hydroelectric power. The core of the plant is comprised of a group of roughly 14 adjoining one- to three-story red brick, concrete block, and steel-frame buildings erected between 1893 and ca. 1995. These measure approximately 420’ x 450’ overall and have a mix of low-pitch gable, flat, or shed roofs. Additional buildings associated with the plant are scattered across the property and include both manufacturing blocks or secondary structures. The most notable buildings associated with the former Aspinook Company mill are a two-story, 40’ x 65’ red brick office building erected ca. 1930; a three-story, 74’ x 76’ red brick storage building erected ca. 1930; a one-story, 108’ x 172’ red brick bleach house erected in 1893; and a one-story, 245’ x 78’ red brick manufacturing building constructed ca. 1930. The latter is the only of the aforementioned buildings not adjoining the main plant and it stands roughly 60’ to the southwest along the east bank of the Quinebaug River. Like the bleach house, this building has a low-pitch gable roof dominated by clerestory monitors (all infilled).

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete Block
• Steel
• Wood

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Structural Steel or Iron
• Wood Frame

Roof Form

• Clerestory Monitor
• Flat
• Gable
• Monitor
• Shed

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• EPDM

Power Source

• Electricity
• Water (Turbine)

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The factory is in overall fair condition. Although sections of the plant show some deterioration along their exterior walls or roofs and most of the original windows have been replaced or infilled, the majority of the plant appears structurally sound and reasonably well maintained.

Specific Location

One 16.44-acre parcel (77 Anthony Street) at the northern terminus of Anthony Street and along the east bank of the Quinebaug River.

Adjacent To

• Water (for Power)
• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 26 / 5 / 3 / Link →

Acreage

16.44

Use (Present)

• Industrial
• Other: All buildings vacant as of 10/2021. Change Wind Corp., manufacturer of wind turbines, leasing building on Anthony St 2013 to c.2020-21. Complex w 200k sq ft for sale 11/2023.
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

04/30/2015

Bibliography

1. List of Connecticut Manufacturers, 1922, 1924, 1930, 1932.
2. Directory of Connecticut State Manufacturers, 1936, 1939.
3. Industrial Directory of Connecticut, 1947.
4. Register of War Production Facilities in Connecticut, 1951.
5. Map of New London County, W.E. Baker, 1854.
6. Atlas of New London County, Beers, Ellis & Soule, 1868.
7. Sanborn Map Company, 1901, 1917, 1924, 1939.
8. Hartford Courant, 1893, 1938, 1958, 1960, 1964.
9. Griswold – A History; Phillips, Daniel L.
10. Griswold in the 20th Century; Cyr, Ted & Erwin Goldstein, 1999.