Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Attawaugan Mfg. Co. 1859-1926
• Ballouville Mill ca. 1825-1859
• Hale Mfg. Co. 1973-late 20th century
• Powdrell & Alexander, Inc. 1926-1953
• R.W. Cramer Co. 1953-1958
• Reid Mfg. Co. 1959-ca. 1973

Use (Historic)

• Clocks, Precision Equipment
• Textiles
• Transportation

Largest Documented Workforce

100-199 (1939)

Historic Narrative

The Attawaugan Manufacturing Company’s Ballouville Mill was originally constructed as a cotton mill by Leonard Ballou and his father-in-law Jabez Amesbury ca. 1825. Ballou and Jabez purchased the site and water privilege along the Five Mile River from Asa Alexander and operated the mill together until 1845 when Ballou became the sole owner. A small village, known as Ballouville, grew up around the mill and a number of the existing houses surrounding the plant were built by the company during this early period. In 1859, the Ballouville Mill was purchased by the Attawaugan Manufacturing Company, which was established that year by Norwich, Connecticut, residents H.B. Norton, and L. and W.L. Blackstone. The Attawaugan Manufacturing Company eventually acquired three mills along the Five Mile River, the other two being located in the villages of Pineville and Attawaugan to the north and south, respectively, of the Ballouville Mill. The firm grew into one of the largest manufacturers in town by the late-19th century, employing 410 workers and maintaining 525 looms during the 1870s, and numbering 500 employees and over 900 looms in 1893. By the 1920s, however, a general decline in the profitability of New England’s textile mills drove the Attawaugan Manufacturing Company towards liquidation. The firm eventually closed its doors and sold all of its Killingly properties in 1926. The Ballouville Mill, along with the Attawaugan Manufacturing Company’s other plants, were purchased by Boston-based Powdrell and Alexander, Inc., a holding company for the Paco Manufacturing Company, for $2,000,000. Powdrell and Alexander was established in Boston by J.W. Powdrell and J.S. Alexander in 1919, and by the end of the 1920s the firm operated six mills throughout Killingly producing a variety of curtains and other window treatments. The prominence of the firm resulted in the nickname, “Curtain Town U.S.A.”, being ascribed to Killingly during this period. In addition to the three mills, the purchase of the Attawaugan Manufacturing Company property included all of its water priviledges and reservoirs, 100 tenements, two clubhouses, two boarding houses, a church, and 600 acres of land. The total equipment transferred numbered 1,000 looms, 50,000 ring spindles, and 13,000 mule spindles. The transaction was completed in September 1926, and Powdrell and Alexander promised to have 700 employees back at work by November of that same year. Powdrell and Alexander continued to operate their Killingly curtain plants until 1950, when the firm shifted its focus to the manufacture of dress shirting. This lasted just two years, as in 1952 the company made the decision to move all of its production out of Killingly. The Ballouville Mill was sold off along with the other two former Attawaugan Manufacturing Company plants and some 1,000 employees were thrown out of work. The Ballouville Mill was eventually purchased by the R.W. Cramer Company, a manufacturer of industrial timing devices and small motors based in Centerbrook, Connecticut. R.W. Cramer retained the plant until 1958 and it subsequently passed to the Reid Manufacturing Company in 1959, and then the Hale Manufacturing Company in 1973. It is unclear when the latter vacated the property, however, it currently stands empty.

Number of Existing Buildings

Four (4) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

ca. 1825, ca. 1920, ca. 1940, ca. 1970.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Powerhouse
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Ballouville Mill is comprised of approximately four adjoining primary blocks located on the north side of Ballouville Road, roughly 150’ west of its intersection with Chestnut Hill Road. The mill complex stands roughly 850’ southwest of Ballouville Pond, the original mill’s power source. The plant’s millrace formerly passed under a block at its northern end, however, the watercourse has since been decommissioned and filled in. The oldest portions of the Ballouville Mill appear to have survived from the factory’s original construction ca. 1825. These include a three-story, 86’ x 189’ stone manufacturing building with a low-pitch front-gabled roof, and a three-story, 72’ x 58’ secondary block of similar detailing adjoining the north elevation of the main building. Notable details of the original construction include stone quoins, rectangular window openings with stone sills and lintels, and diamond-shaped masonry anchors. A four-story rectangular stair tower is centered on the façade (south elevation) of the primary manufacturing block, while two four-story secondary stair towers are located on its east elevation. The main stair tower has loading doors on the south elevation of its first, second, and third floors, and tall, round-arched window openings on the upper story. The latter originally housed a pair of narrow windows with round-arched heads, however, the sash has been removed and the openings infilled. Fenestration throughout the remainder of the original portions of the mill primarily consists of twelve-over-twelve double-hung frame sash. Several modifications were completed on the Ballouville Mill during the early- and mid-20th century. A one-story, 30’ x 60’ brick and stucco boiler house was erected at the northwest corner of the plant, likely around 1920, while a pair of additions were built on the east and west sides of the mill’s primary stair tower ca. 1940. The block built on the west side of the tower is a three-story, 40’ x 19’ stucco-faced structure with twelve-over-twelve double-hung frame sash, concrete window sills, and a shed roof. The block to the west formerly housed a shipping area and is a one-story, 18’ x 22’ wood-frame structure with a pair of garage-style openings and a shed roof. The final building associated with the Ballouville Mill is a two-story, 41’ x 144’ manufacturing building erected during the late-19th century. This is connected to the main plant via three ground-level passageways and has a concrete block first story and a mix of wood- and steel-frame construction on its upper level. A 20’-deep section of the southern (front) end of the building’s second floor has aluminum siding, double-hung wood windows, and a front-facing gable roof. The remainder of the block extends below a corrugated metal Quonset hut with small dormers lining its east elevation.

Exterior Material(s)

• Steel
• Stone
• Stucco

Structural System(s)

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

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable
• Round
• Shed

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• Metal

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam
• Water (Turbine)
• Water (Wheel)

Condition

Fair, Deteriorated

Condition Notes

The factory is in fair to deteriorated condition with many of the walls, windows, and roofs in serious need of repair. Several buildings formerly located at the northeast corner of the plant were recently demolished.

Specific Location

One 17.0-acre parcel (244 Ballouville Road) on the north side of Ballouville Road, roughly 150’ west of its intersection with Chestnut Hill Road.

Adjacent To

• Water (for Power)

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 40/8 / Link →

Acreage

n/a

Use (Present)

• Other: 8/2023 Town of Killingly received Brownfield money for remediation ($800k for 3 sites including Ballouville mill)
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

04/13/2015

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 Windham County, E.M. Woodford, 1855.
6. Atlas of Windham County, O.W. Gray, 1869.
7. Hartford Courant, 1893, 1927 1930, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953.
8. A History of Windham County, Connecticut; Bayles, Richard M., ed., 1889.
9. A Modern History of Windham County, Connecticut; Lincoln, Allen B., 1920.
10. Miles of Millstreams: A Chronicle of Killingly, Connecticut; Weaver, Margaret M., 1976.
11. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).
12. State Register Historic District nomination on file at the office of SHPO, Hartford, CT.