Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Comstock, Cheney and Co. 1860-1937
• Ernst Bichoff Co. Inc. 1937-1956
• Miles Laboratories 1956-Unknown
• Moeller Instruments Company, Inc. late-20th c.
• S.M. Comstock & Company 1848-1860

Use (Historic)

• Clocks, Precision Equipment
• Consumer Products, Small Appliances
• Rubber & Chemicals

Largest Documented Workforce

100-500 (1928, all company pla

Historic Narrative

Comstock, Cheney and Company was organized by Samuel M. Comstock and George A. Cheney in 1860. By this time both Comstock and Cheney had significant experience in the ivory cutting trade. During the 1830s Comstock worked for his older brother’s ivory products firm, known Joseph A. Comstock and Company, in Saybrook, and then in 1838 he partnered with Edwin Griswold to form another ivory processing mill, the Comstock and Griswold Company, in the Centerbrook village of Essex. In 1848, Comstock took sole control of this company and the newly-organized firm, S.M. Comstock and Company, was moved to what is now Ivoryton. Cheney, on the other hand, spent over a decade working as an ivory purchasing agent on the African island of Zanzibar and was a principle in the notable New York-based ivory importing firm Arnold, Cheney and Company. Like Comstock’s earlier ventures, Comstock, Cheney manufactured a variety of ivory goods including combs, toothpicks, and piano keys. The company was incorporated in 1872, and in 1873, a second plant was erected roughly one-third of a mile west of the original Main Street plant. The new (upper) mill was equipped for the manufacture of piano keyboards and actions, while the lower mill and the numerous bleach houses that surrounded it were devoted to ivory curing, cutting, sorting, matching, and finishing. The average adult African elephant tusk weighs 75 pounds, from which Comstock, Cheney could produce the thin ivory veneers for the keys of 45 pianos. Between 1891 and 1903 the firm processed 1.25 million pounds of ivory. Comstock, Cheney soon added additional ivory products to its catalog. These included billiard balls, dominoes, spatulas, letter openers, toiletries, and various ornamental goods. As the operation grew the upper plant was continually expanded. The company’s workforce soon numbered in the hundreds and the firm moved to build a village of employee tenements, a company store, meeting hall, and grammar school. The early 1900s, however, soon presented new challenges for the company. Sales of pianos peaked in the United States in 1910, and the onset of the Great Depression struck a hard blow for all manufacturers of luxury goods. In 1936, Comstock, Cheney merged with local rival Pratt, Read and Company (which had origins in Deep River dating back to 1816) in an effort to maximize efficiencies and streamline costs. The combined firm was organized as Pratt, Read and Company, Inc., however, in 1937, the lower mill was sold to the Ernst Bischoff Company, a pharmaceutical research and manufacturing company. Ernst Bischoff moved their labs and production from New York City to Ivoryton and retained the plant until 1956, when it was reorganized as the Miles Laboratories. The plant was last occupied by the Moeller Instruments Company, Inc., a manufacturer of thermometers, pressure gauges, and other measuring devices.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly seven (7) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1848, 1860, ca. 1880, ca. 1900, ca. 1920, late-20th c.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Powerhouse

Architectural Description

The former Comstock, Cheney and Company Lower Mill is comprised of approximately seven primary adjoining and freestanding blocks located on the south side of Main Street, north side of the Falls River, and approximately 500’ west of Main Street’s intersection with Summit Street. The oldest portion of the complex is a 50’ x 42’ wood-frame block erected in 1848 to house the S.M. Comstock and Company. The building consists of a central two-story, side-gabled section with one-story shed roof ells on its north and south (front and rear) sides. The building has vinyl siding and double-hung wood windows, many of the latter in ten-over-ten arrangements. A one-and-a-half-story, 38’ x 76’ wood-frame block with a raised basement level was erected as the main manufacturing building following the organization of Comstock, Cheney and Company in 1860. This has a gneiss foundation and basement walls, vinyl siding, double-hung twelve-over-twelve windows, and a front-facing gable roof with cornice returns. The building’s primary entry is centered on the first story of the north (front) elevation, and a rectangular cupola with round-arched openings, scroll-cut brackets, and a flat roof is centered along the block’s ridgeline. Further additions were made to the plant during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A one-story, 16’ x 34’ red brick boiler house and a 54’-tall rectangular red brick chimney were erected adjoining the east elevation of the 1860 block ca. 1900, and a three-story, 62’ x 30’ wood-frame ell was built adjoining the west elevation of the 1848 block ca. 1880. The latter was extended roughly 50’ to its present size of 112’ x 30’ ca. 1920. The addition mimics the details of the original construction, which includes double-hung ten-over-twelve sash and a side-gabled roof.

Exterior Material(s)

• Vinyl Siding

Structural System(s)

• Wood Frame

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable
• Shed

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam
• Water (Turbine)

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in overall fair condition. The buildings have been sheathed with vinyl siding, however, many of the original windows have been retained. Scroll-cut brackets originally found in the eaves of the 1860 block have been removed.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (126 Main Street) totaling 5.0 acres located on the south side of Main Street, north side of the Falls River, and approximately 500’ west of Main Street’s intersection with Summit Street.

Located in Ivoryton Historic District (2013). https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/13000895.pdf

Adjacent To

• Water (for Power)
• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 57/037 / Link →

Acreage

5.0

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Industrial
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

07/02/2015

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; Baker, William A., 1854.
6. Atlas of New London County, Beers, Ellis & Soule, 1868.
7. Sanborn Map Company, 1884, 1889, 1895, 1901, 1908, 1914, 1925, 1943.
8. Around Essex: Elephants and River Gods; Storms, Robbi and Don Malcarne, 2001.
9. Register of the Pratt, Read Corporation Records, 1838-1990; Smithsonian Institute.
10. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).
11. Esser, Phillip and Michell Trevino. 2013. 2013. Ivoryton Historic District National Register Nomination No. 13000895. National Park Service.