Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Bridgeport Chain Co. c.1890s
• Holmes and Edward Silver Co. 1881-1898
• International Silver Company 1898-1931
• Magnatek c.2010
• Starring and Company c.1931

Use (Historic)

• Consumer Products, Small Appliances
• Electrical Equipment
• Fabricated Metal Products
• Metal Treating and Finishing

Largest Documented Workforce

1,200 (1910)

Historic Narrative

The Holmes and Edwards Company, a manufacturer of silver plate ware, was founded in Bridgeport in 1882 by Charles E. L. Holmes (1832-) George C. Edwards (1846-) through acquisition of the Rogers and Britten Silver Company, itself established in 1880. Edwin Brittin (1848-1881) had previously founded the Derby Silver Co., makers of silver plate flatware and hollow-ware, in 1875. Holmes and Edwards brought substantial industrial experience to the new enterprise. Holmes’ father was Israel Holmes who had been a partner in establishing several Waterbury brass manufacturers, including Holmes Booth and Haydens; Charles Holmes learned about the brass industry in these companies. In 1869, with his father and another partner, he formed Holmes and Griggs Manufacturing Co. to produce brass and German silver. George Edwards had worked in the drug and chemical industry, and started Brucey Chemical Company, to produce wood alcohol, in 1876. In 1880, he became secretary and treasurer of the Holmes and Griggs Manufacturing Company (Edwards had married Holmes’ sister in 1872). Shortly thereafter Holmes and Edwards bought the controlling interest in Rogers and Britten. Holmes and Edwards Company produced sterling silver as well as inlaid and silver plate flatware. In 1898, the company was one of thirteen independent silver plating firms to enter the International Silver Company “factory C” partnership, largely through Edwards’ efforts. In 1931, facing financial hardship in the wake of the Great Depression, the International Silver Company closed the Bridgeport facility and consolidated its operations in the Wallingford, Meriden and Waterbury factories. George Edwards explored other manufacturing interests, notably weldless wireless chain. In 1887, he organized the Bridgeport Chain Company, which worked out of the Holmes and Edwards Company space. In the 1890s, Bridgeport Chain Company moved to its own factory just east on Crescent Avenue. Other occupants of the facility have included Starring and Company, a manufacturer of fluorescent lighting transformers, in the 1930s, and, most recently, Magnatek, an electronic component manufacturer.

Number of Existing Buildings

Seven (7) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

c.1885-1889, c.1890-1913, c.1950

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Loft
• Powerhouse
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The three oldest buildings in the complex, dating from c.1880 to 1889, are the remnants of an office at the northwest corner, the middle section of a three-story brick loft building that runs along Seaview Avenue, and the boiler house now enclosed in post-1950 infill construction. The one-story brick office building has a hip roof, and originally had other decorative elements including a cupola. It was attached to a large rolling shed to the south, since demolished. An addition between the office and the loft was built c.1889-1913, as was another to the south of the loft. A saw-tooth roof addition along the eastern property line was built in stages between 1889 and 1950. The southwestern-most building is a one-story post 1950 addition.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Steel

Structural System(s)

• Post and Beam
• Structural Concrete
• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• Metal

Power Source

• Steam

Condition

Good, Fair, Deteriorated

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

The complex is located on 2.29 acres at the southeast corner of Seaview and Crescent Avenues; alternate address is 874 Crescent Avenue.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads
• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 43/749/1 / Link →

Acreage

2.29

Use (Present)

• Vacant

Form Completed By

Mike Forino

Date

August 2014

Bibliography

1. 1947 Industrial Directory of Connecticut.
2. The Hartford Courant, 1931.
3. New England Manufacturers and Manufactories, Volume 1, by J. D. Van Slyck (Boston: Van Slyck and Co, 1879).
4. Men of Mark in Connecticut, Volume IV, Colonel N. G. Osborn ed (Hartford: William R Goodspeed, 1908).
5. 'The Development of the Naugatuck Valley Brass Trade Outside of Waterbury, Conn.,' The Metal Industry, Vol. 8, Nbr. 3 (New York: March 1910).
6. For more information, see 'The Holmes and Edwards Silver Company,' (QueenofSienna, July 2014).
7. See also the International Silver Company Records at the Thomas R Dodd Research Center at UConn