Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Attawaugan Company 1860-1927
• Danielson Curtain Company 1953-
• Powdrell and Alexander 1927-1953

Use (Historic)

• Textiles

Largest Documented Workforce

Approx. 165 (1880s)

Historic Narrative

H. B. Norton and L. Blackstone of Norwich formed the Attawaugan Manufacturing Co. in 1859. The firm ran cotton mills on three water privileges within three miles of each other along Five Mile River in northern Killingly. Each mill was the center of a small village; from downstream to upstream these were (and are) named Attawaugan, Ballouville and Pineville. Each privilege had seen industrial activity since at least the early 19th century. The Stone Chapel Manufacturing Co. built a stone mill at the Attawaugan privilege in 1810; George Ruggles owned and ran it until Attawaugan Manufacturing Co. bought the site in 1859. […] Attawaugan Manufacturing Co. built (or altered to present form) all the surviving mills, beginning in 1860 with the brick mill in the village that bears the firm's name. […] In 1870, when all three mills were operating, Attawaugan Manufacturing Co. employed 150 men, 130 women and 130 children. The combined power systems provided 315 horsepower to run 27,500 spindles and 525 looms in production of sheetings. By the mid-1880s there were about 500 workers. The power system had been upgraded to yield at least 500 horsepower from water; spindles numbered near 36,000 and looms over 800. Output came to include cambrics and fancy dress goods as well as sheetings and shirtings. In 1927 the curtain manufacturing firm of Powdrell and Alexander bought the mills; when this firm liquidated in 1952 it donated the water system to the residents of the villages. (Roth) According to the Killingly Historical Society, the site was originally developed with a fine sheeting factory owned by George Weatherhead. In 1860, the Attawaugan Company built a new mill at the site. After Powdrell and Alexander left, the Danielson Curtain Company took over in 1953. The complex is presently known as The Crossing housing small businesses.

Number of Existing Buildings

Five (5) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1860, 1890, 1893, 1913

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Powerhouse

Architectural Description

[The 3 ½ story, 235’ x 67’ brick Attawaugan mill was built in 1860.] It has a dormered gable roof and a stair tower that is off-center on the west side. The segmentally arched windows have granite sills. There are brick additions built in 1890 and 1893, a c.1890 boiler house and a 1913 brick weave shed with sawtooth roof. Only ruins of the masonry dam remain, but the stone-lined headrace is preserved. Some 30 frame mill houses stand in rows north of the mills. (Roth)

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

n/a

Roof Form

• Gable
• Sawtooth

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

n/a

Condition

n/a

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

11.7 acres at the southeast corner of Ballouville Road and Putnam Pike, opposite Attawaugan Crossing Road

Adjacent To

• Water (for Power)
• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 63/76 / Link →

Acreage

11.7

Use (Present)

• Mixed-Use
• Vacant

Form Completed By

n/a

Date

n/a

Bibliography

1. Historical Society of Killingly website, 2015.
2. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).
3. State Register nomination on file at the office of SHPO, Hartford, CT.