Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Arrow Electric Company ca. 1910
• Automatic Refrigeration Co. 1907-late-20th c.
• Hartford Bedstead Co. 1904-1905
• Hartford Wire Mattress Co. 1886-1904
• McCue Co. ca. 1910
• Power Organ Co. ca. 1910
• Spencer Turbine Cleaner Co. ca. 1910

Use (Historic)

• Electrical Equipment
• Fabricated Metal Products
• Transportation

Largest Documented Workforce

150 (1916).

Historic Narrative

The Hartford Woven Wire Mattress Co. was organized in Hartford, Connecticut in 1869. The firm was founded after several local businessmen, including Henry Bissell, William Matson Stiles, I. Sperry, and George B. Hawley, indentified the potential of a revolutionary design for a woven wire mattress on display at a Hartford Mechanics’ Fair in 1868. The invention, among the first to substitute woven for coiled wire in the production of a mattress, was patented by a man by the name of Wegman in 1868, and the Hartford men quickly acquired the patent and hired a local engineer, J.N. Farnham, to make several improvements that would result in a mass-producible and marketable product. The investors joined with S.T. Wolcott and Charles Green to organize Hartford Woven Wire Mattress in 1870. Despite aggressive advertising efforts about the advantages of cost and durability the product displayed over traditional stuffed or wire spring mattresses, the 'Hartford Mattress' was slow to take hold. Recognizing the missed opportunity, a local investor, George C. Perkins, acquired majority control of the firm in 1871. Perkins’ talents as a businessman were clear from the start and the company quickly began to turn a profit. Although Perkins died in 1875, the solid footing upon which he had placed the company ensured its survival into the 20th century. Perkins was also followed by a series of capable managers, including George Roberts, who served as president of the firm during the late 1870s, and his son Henry Roberts, who served as president from 1884 until 1907 (he was also Governor of Connecticut from 1905 to 1907). By the mid-1880s, competition in the wire mattress business grew as additional firms were established, however, Hartford Woven Wire Company weathered the trials and twice defended its patents against infringement in court. By 1886, the firm employed 50 hands and a new plant was required in order to keep up with what was by then global demand. Land was acquired on Capitol Avenue in Hartford and a large factory built, allowing the firm to double its workforce by 1889. The company also expanded its catalog and by the early 1890s it products included iron and brass bedsteads, folding bedsteads, and wire door mats, car seats, cots, and cribs. During the mid-1890s, Hartford Woven Wire Mattress diversified its product lines even further to include a range of wire screen products used as window guards, office and factory partitions, lawn fences and trellises, tree guards, grille work, counter guards, etc. By 1903, the firm employed roughly 110 workers, however, financial difficulties were on the horizon. In January 1904, the company was reorganized as the Hartford Bedstead Co. by Henry Roberts and Charles E. and Arthur Perkins, and by the summer of 1905 local papers announced that the firm was on the verge of closure. This occurred shortly thereafter and the plant was occupied by several small manufacturers before being sold to an investor, Austin C. Dunham, in 1907. Between 1905 and 1916 tenants occupying the former Hartford Woven Wire Mattress plant included the McCue Co., an automobile manufacturer; the Power Organ Co., a producer of water and power motors for church organs; and the Spencer Turbine Cleaner Co., which fabricated a turbine-cleaning device; the Arrow Electric Co.; and the Automatic Refrigeration Co., a pioneer developer of air conditioning systems. Automatic Refrigeration was drawn to Hartford by Austin C. Dunham, president of the Hartford Electric Light Co., in 1907, and the firm purchased the former mattress plant a decade later. The firm employed 150 hands at the time of the acquisition, yet by the late 1930s had fallen to 25. Regardless, Automatic Refrigeration remained in operation until the late-19th century. The building currently houses Capitol Archives and Record Storage, a document and data management firm.

Number of Existing Buildings

Three (3) primary adjoining primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1886, ca. 1916, ca. 1930.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

The former Hartford Woven Wire Mattress Company factory is comprised of three primary adjoining blocks located on the north side of Capitol Avenue, at the northwest corner of Capitol Avenue’s intersection with Laurel Street. The plant’s main and original block was built as a two-story, 62’ x 296’ red brick building in 1886, yet was raised to three-stories ca. 1916. Except for the façade, which saw alterations to the door and window openings, the new construction matches the original details of the building almost perfectly. This includes its brick pier walls, segmental-arched window openings with brownstone sills and paired fenestration (sash since removed), corbelled brick headers, and a front-facing low-pitch roof. Images of the factory from the 1890s suggest that the three bays at the eastern end of the plant housed an office block with segmental-arched windows and a hipped roof, however, this appears to have been partially or entirely rebuilt during the ca. 1916 alterations. This section of the factory now has rectangular window openings with brownstone sills and lintels on the first two floors, and segmental-arched windows above. The present roof is a continuation of that which extends over the remainder of the block. A one-story boiler house previously located at the center of the original building’s north elevation also appears to have been rebuilt ca. 1916. It was replaced by a one- and two-story, 50’ x 103’ red brick block with a flat roof, a rectangular red brick chimney, and a three-story stair tower. A one-story red brick machine shop was also built adjoining the northeast corner of the new boiler plant ca. 1916. Around 1930 this block was raised to three stories and joined with the north elevation of the original plant. Once completed it measured roughly 83’ x 84’ and nearly linked the factory with a three-story transformer house immediately to the northeast of the plant. Around the same time, a section of the western end of the main block was removed and a new four-and-a-half-story stair tower erected. This has rectangular window openings with concrete sills, multi-pane metal sash with hopper-style windows, and a flat roof.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• EPDM

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in fair condition. The exterior walls are in need of cleaning and minor repairs and all of the original windows have been removed and boarded up, however, the plant appears reasonably well maintained overall.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (618 Capitol Avenue) totaling 0.802 acres located on the north side of Capitol Avenue, at the northwest corner of Capitol Avenue’s intersection with Laurel Street.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads
• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 181/408/4 (for record, use link and type in address or parcel number) / Link →

Acreage

0.802

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Other: sold 2021

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

08/31/2015

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, 1885, 1900, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1950.
8. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1965.
9. Hartford City Directories, Various editions.
10. The Hartford Courant, 1869, 1878, 1895, 1903, 1905, 1907, 1909, 1915, 1916, 1934.
11. Hartford, Conn., As a Manufacturing, Business and Commercial Center; Hartford Board of Trade, 1889.