Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Buckley Macaroni Co. ca. 1909-1923
• Goss and Deleeuw Machine Co. 1923-2002

Use (Historic)

• Food, Beverage, Tobacco
• Machine Tools, Machinery

Largest Documented Workforce

25-49 (1939)

Historic Narrative

The Goss and DeLeeuw Machine Company was established in 1922 by Stanley Goss, a machinist and inventor, and Adolph DeLeeuw, an industrial designer. Goss came to the Berlin area from Winetka, Illinois in 1906 after finding work at the Corbin Motor Vehicle Company. When the company folded in 1912, Goss went to work at the New Britain Machine Company, where he remained until 1922. After Goss left the New Britain Machine Company he partnered with DeLeeuw, who lived in Plainfield, New Jersey and was employed in New York City as a mechanical engineer, to begin production of automatic chucking machines in Berlin. In 1923, Goss purchased a factory formerly occupied by the Buckley Macaroni Company, which had been established on Harding Street by a Mr. Buccolini ca. 1909. The Goss and DeLeeuw Machine Company received its initial investment capital from New Britain Industrialists Norman Cooley, Harvard Hart, and Charles F. Smith. In 1926, an addition was built adjoining the original plant, which allowed the company to increase production. By the early-1940s, the Goss and DeLeeuw Machine Company was running at maximum capacity. The firm operated two daily shifts of 11 and 13 hours, seven days a week, yet still had a backlog of $1,250,000 for its multiple spindle chucking machines. A Hartford Courant article published in March 1941 announced plans for a significant expansion to the Harding Street plant, which would allow the company to double its workforce in order to keep up with demand. Both Goss and DeLeeuw died during the 1940s, however, the firm they established continued to thrive under new management. In March 1977, Goss and DeLeeuw reported a net income of $453,440, an increase of 15 percent over the previous year and a record high for the firm. This success continued through the 1980s, when another addition to the plant was constructed, and despite being on the edge of bankruptcy in 1994, the company bounced back during the late-1990s when it again posted record sales ($17 million) and won American Machinist Magazine’s Most Innovative Company Award (1998). Unfortunately, 1998 would prove to be the company’s high water mark and it rapidly declined during the recessions of the early 2000s. In 2002, the firm unexpectedly closed its doors and laid off its 40 employees.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly eight (8) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

ca. 1909, 1926, 1941, 1970, 1982.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Mill
• Powerhouse
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Goss and DeLeeuw Machine Company plant is comprised of roughly eight adjoining primary blocks. The earliest portion of the plant consists of a one-story, 136’ x 45’ factory building and adjoining one-story, 20’ x 20’ boiler house, these erected ca. 1909. They are typical early-20th century mill structures and are characterized by their red brick walls, segmental-arched window openings, and flat roofs. While the majority of their window openings have been infilled with brick and glass blocks, the profiles of the original openings are still visible. The first addition to the ca. 1909 plant was erected in 1926. This consisted of a pair of 125’-long flat-roof blocks erected adjoining the south elevation of the original buildings. The block closest to Harding Street is a one-story, 125’ x 40 steel-frame and red brick machine shop with large window openings (since reduced with vinyl infill and metal sash) and a flat roof. The northernmost bay of the block’s west elevation has a single garage opening, above which is a stepped and gabled parapet with the date “1926” cast into its facade. The second 1926 block extends the full length of its contemporary’s east elevation. It is a one-and-a-half-story, 125’ x 42’ steel-frame and red brick machine shop of similar styling to the other 1926 block, but with a row of upper-story window openings running along the roofline of the west elevation. Two additional blocks were added to the plant in 1941. These are of similar styling to the 1926 buildings and adjoin their southern elevations. The western block is a one-story, 153’ x 61’ machine shop with sawtooth roof, while that to the east is a one-and-a-half-story, 350’ x 42’ red brick manufacturing plant with a flat roof. A one-and-a-half-story, 200’ x 60’ steel-frame and red brick block with a flat roof was built at the junction of the 1941 buildings in 1982, the same time that a one-story, 28’ x 35’ steel-frame and red brick shipping block was added at the southern end of the factory. In the meantime, a one-story, 58’ x 94’ prefabricated metal office building had been built at the northern end of the plant, this completed in 1970.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Steel

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Flat
• Sawtooth

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• Metal

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Good

Condition Notes

The factory is in good condition. Although many of the window openings in various blocks have been infilled or reduced in size, the exterior walls, window openings, and roofs all appear to be well maintained.

Specific Location

One 4.37-acre parcel (100 Harding Street) on the east side of Harding Street and Langdon Court; west side of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad line; and south of Vincent Drive.

Adjacent To

• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 9/1/28/27 / Link →

Acreage

4.37

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Industrial

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

02/18/2015

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 Hartford County, H & C.T. Smith, 1855.
6. Atlas of Hartford County, Beers, Baker & Tilden, 1869.
7. Sanborn Map Company, 1887, 1895, 1901, 1908, 1914, 1927, 1944.
8. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1965.
9. New Britain City Directory, 1860-1960.
10. Hartford Courant, 1941, 2002.
11. History of New Britain, With Sketches of Farmington and Berlin, Camp, David, N., 1889.
12. Town of Berlin HRI, Historic Resource Consultants, 1984.