Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Belknap Manufacturing Co. ca. 1922-mid-20th c.
• Bridgeport Projectile Co. 1915-1917
• Briggs Manufacturing Co Mid-20th c.
• Dolan Steel Co. Mid-20th c.
• Fabricon Products Inc. Mid-20th c.
• Liberty Ordnance Co. 1917-1919
• Moore Tool Company, Inc. Mid-20th c.-Present (2016)
• Morris Metal Products Co. 1919-1922
• Peerless Unit Ventilator Co. Mid-20th c.
• Reliable Steel Co. Mid-20th c.

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products
• Machine Tools, Machinery

Largest Documented Workforce

500 (1917).

Historic Narrative

The Bridgeport Projectile Co. was organized in Bridgeport, Connecticut in April 1915. The firm’s primary business was the manufacture of artillery shells, this supported by the outbreak of the First World War in Europe. The company’s operations began before America’s involvement in the war and as a result it initiated production with contracts secured from both the German and U.S. Governments, the former being for some 2,000,000 shell cases valued at $5,000,000. By the summer of 1915, however, evidence discovered by British and U.S. intelligence agencies began to uncover a complex scheme devised by the German Government under which the Bridgeport Projectile Co. was to be used as device through which the delivery of munitions to Allied armies would be delayed or thwarted. The initial $2,000,000 required to build the company’s Bridgeport plant and to purchase raw materials for production were provided by the German Government through a direct agent, Carl Heynen, who served as the firm’s first treasurer. Heynen formed the business along with a group of Bridgeport businessmen, including G.W. Hoadley, W.H. Knight, Archibald McNeil Jr., and Carl Foster, in an attempt to give the company an American face, however, it appears that with the possible exception of Hoadley none of these men were aware of the conspiracy that they were embroiled in. Once the company was established, the German plan called for the Bridgeport Projectile Co. to establish contracts for materials and machinery needed for artillery shell production with U.S. manufacturers, however, these contracts would either be immediately canceled or delayed and payment witheld. The hope was that this would interrupt U.S. munition production at least until the end of 1915, whereupon Germany expected to have won the war in Europe. The company was also to pay its employees exorbitantly high wages, the intention being that other manufacturers would face labor unrest or have to follow suit, thus financially stressing their own firms. There were limited examples of the plan’s initial success, however, the discovery of a German operative, Heinrich Friedrich Albert, brought the conspiracy to light shortly after its implementation. The German-funded plant was soon busy producing materiale for the Allied armies and Heyden fled the country following the United States’s declaration of war with Germany. The Bridgeport Projectile Co. was reorganized as the Liberty Ordnance Co. on October 15, 1917, this perhaps in an effort to distance the firm from the German conspiracy. The capacity of the plant had been recently expanded to include small caliber naval guns and its capital had been increased to $4,000,000. The factory was noted as being among the largest and most modern ordnance plants in the U.S. at the time and it employed upwards of 500 skilled machinists capable of turning out between 5,000 and 50,000 shells per day (depending on caliber), and either two five- or six-inch naval guns per week. Regardless of its significant contributions to the American war effort, the Liberty Ordnance Co. ceased operations shortly after the conclusion of hostilities in Europe. By 1920, the firm’s massive plant had been occupied by the Morris Metal Products Co., however, this was never profitable and closed in 1922. The facility was in turn acquired by the Belknap Mfg. Co., a brass and bronze goods manufacturer established in Bridgeport by Charles Belknap in 1863. By the late 1930s, several other companies occupied the massive complex along with Belknap including the Briggs Mfg. Co. and the Peerless Unit Ventilator Co. By 1950, these been replaced by Fabricon Products Inc., the Reliable Steel Drum Co., and the Dolan Steel Co. Most of the facility stands vacant today, however, the Moore Tool Co., Inc., a precision tool manufacturer established in Bridgeport by Richard F. Moore in 1924, has since occupied the core of the plant where Belknap Manufacturing once operated.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly four (4) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1915, 1916, ca. 1930, mid-20th c.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Mill
• Powerhouse
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Bridgeport Projectile Company plant covers more than 7.7 acres of land and is comprised of roughly four adjoining and freestanding primary buildings and more than a dozen adjoining and freestanding accessory blocks located on the east side of Union Avenue, approximately 750’ north of Union Avenue’s intersection with Connecticut Avenue. The four primary buildings were all erected in 1915 or 1916 and consist of the plant’s main machine shop, the office and engineering building, the forge shop, and gun shop. The machine shop is located at the southwest corner of the complex and was built in 1915. It is a two-story, 60’ x 350’ block of red brick construction with brick piers topped by concrete caps, large rectangular window openings, concrete window sills and lintels, tile coping, and a flat roof. The office and engineering block was likewise erected in 1915 and it adjoins the western end of the machine shop’s north (side) elevation. The office and engineering building is of the same design as the machine shop, however, the primary entrance to the plant is centered on its west (front) elevation. The entrance’s original design appears to have been altered and it presently consists of a flat metal porch supported by two square brick columns. The entry is comprised of a metal and glass door flanked by sidelights and with a glass transom and plain concrete entablature above. The forge shop is located roughly 125’ north of the office and engineering building beyond a cluster of blocks built for various purposes both in 1915 and throughout the mid-20th century. The forge shop is a two-story, 100’ x 480’ steel-frame block with a concrete foundation, red brick apron walls, concrete trim, and a two-tiered clerestory monitor roof. The façade bears classical details and the pedimented and modillioned gable roof is supported by brick piers topped by a plain concrete entablature. The high degree of detailing found on the forge shop’s façade suggest it may have been added by a later occupant as it does not match that of the original plant’s office block and does not correspond with the building’s utility. The final primary block associated with the former Bridgeport Projectile Company factory is the gun shop, which was built in 1916. It is a two-story, 110’ x 290’ steel-frame building located directly east of the main machine shop. The entire building has been sheathed in aluminum siding, however, its original details included red brick and concrete apron walls, large rectangular window openings with multi-pane metal sash, a clerestory monitor roof, and stepped parapets on the east and west elevations. The interior of the building was open to the full height of its two-story roof, however, 25’-wide balconies extended along the side (north and south) elevations where the manufacture of breech loading mechanisms originally took place.

Exterior Material(s)

• Aluminum Siding or Paneling
• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Flat
• Monitor

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in fair condition. The majority of the original windows throughout the complex have been boarded up or infilled and one of the primary blocks has been sheathed in aluminum siding, however, overall, the facility appears to be well maintained and structurally sound.

Specific Location

Two parcels totaling 7.71 acres on the east side of Union Avenue south of Williston Street and west side of Hollister Avenue

Adjacent To

• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 44/725/2/K / Link →
• 44/725/7 / Link →

Acreage

5.33 and 2.38

Use (Present)

• Industrial
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas Karmazinas

Date

1/19/2016

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 Fairfield County; Baker, William A., 1854.
6. Atlas of the City of Bridgeport; J.B. Beers & Co., 1876.
7. Atlas of the City and Town of Bridgeport; G.M. Hopkins & Co., 1888, 1917.
8. Atlas of Bridgeport; Kershaw, William H., 1910.
9. Sanborn Map Company, 1884, 1888, 1898, 1904, 1913, 1939, 1950.
10. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1951, 1965, 1970, 1985.
11. Bridgeport City Directory, Various editions.
12. Hartford Courant, 1915, 1916, 1917.
13. New York Times, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1932, 1944.
14. A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport; Orcutt, Samuel, 1886.
15. History of Bridgeport and Vicinity; S.J. Clarke Publishing, 1917.