Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Brewster Corset Co. 1888-1904
• Brewster Corset Co., Inc. 1904-1908
• Derby Corset Co., Inc. 1908-1915
• Liberty Tool & Machine Co. c.1918-c.1924

Use (Historic)

• Apparel & Accessories
• Fabricated Metal Products

Largest Documented Workforce

100 (1888)

Historic Narrative

The Brewster Corset Company was established by Cyrus Brewster in 1888, and began manufacturing corsets in a three-story brick building erected on the west side of Caroline Street, just south of the R.N. Bassett Corset Company, that same year. The Brewster Corset Company employed about 100 workers, most of these women and young girls, and was managed by W.H. Smith, the company’s superintendent. The Brewster Corset Company passed out of Cyrus Brewster’s hands in 1904, when it was reorganized and incorporated by Edward A. Harriman and William L. Barnett of Derby, and S. Bigelow Cheney of New Haven. The firm’s capital stock was valued at $50,000 at the time of its incorporation and the company continued to operate on Caroline Street until 1908 when it was succeeded by the Derby Corset Company, itself incorporated on October 26, 1908. The Derby Corset Company was reorganized as M and P Corsetry, Inc. on February 10, 1915. M and P Corsetry soon vacated the Caroline Street factory, which next passed to the Liberty Tool and Machine Company, manufacturers of machinery and machine tools. Liberty Tool was incorporated by W.J. Shaughnessy, Jr., Walter J. Murphy, and C.L. Buckley in 1918, however, the company’s tenure on Caroline Street appears to have been short-lived. The firm is absent from State industrial directories by 1924 and its former factory is listed simply as a “Loft Building” on a 1947 Sanborn Map. The building passed through numerous owners through the second half of the 20th century and as of January 2015 stands vacant.

Number of Existing Buildings

One (1) block.

Dates of Construction

1888

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

The former Brewster Corset Company plant is a three-story red brick mill building erected in 1888. The building measures 40’ x 88’ and is four bays wide and ten bays deep. It has a red brick foundation and walls, star-shaped masonry anchors, segmental-arched window openings with stone or brick sills, a denticulated cornice with cornice returns, and a low-pitch front-facing gable roof. The first story of the building’s façade has been faced with a brick veneer, while the floors above have been refaced with stucco framed by half-timbering. Except for several altered windows on the façade the building retains its original and/or historic windows. These consist of frame sash in two-over-two or six-over-six arrangements.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity
• Water (Turbine)

Condition

Deteriorated

Condition Notes

The building is in poor condition. The exterior walls are heavily stained and deteriorated and the many of the windows are heavily damaged and missing components. The façade has been refaced with brick veneer and stucco, with several of the window openings infilled and hidden from view in the process.

Specific Location

One 0.1 acre parcel on the west side of Caroline Street, just south of its intersection with Hallock Court

Adjacent To

• Water (for Power)
• Business District

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 8-5 189 (for record, use link and type in address or parcel number) / Link →

Acreage

0.1

Use (Present)

• Other: Demolished 2023
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

01/13/2015

Bibliography

1. List of Connecticut Manufacturers, 1922, 1924, 1930, 1932.
2. Directory of Connecticut State Manufacturers, 1936, 1939.
3. Map of New Haven County, H & C.T. Smith, 1856.
4. Atlas of New Haven County, Beers, Ellis & Soule, 1868.
5. Industrial Directory of Connecticut, 1947.
6. Register of War Production Facilities in Connecticut, 1951.
7. Sanborn Map Company, 1896, 1901, 1906, 1912, 1924, 1947.
8. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1965.
9. Bird’s Eye View of Birmingham, Connecticut, O.H. Bailey, 1876.
10. The History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642-1880, 1880.
11. History of New Haven County, 1892.
12. Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley, Malloy, Leo T., 1935.
13. Derby, Connecticut 300th Anniversary Commemorative Book; 1675-1975, 1975.
14. Hartford Courant, 1904, 1918.