Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• M. Swift & Sons Co. ca. 1895-2005
• Matthew Swift Co. ca. 1887-1882

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products

Largest Documented Workforce

200-299 (1939)

Historic Narrative

Born in Birmingham, England in 1842, Matthew Swift immigrated to Hartford in 1864. Not long after his arrival, Swift found work at the gold beating shop of J. M. Ney, which by this time had grown into the largest gold beating entity in the city. Swift worked for close to 25 years in Ney’s downtown Asylum Street shop before he chose to venture out on his own around 1887. Swift built a two-story frame house on the east side Love Lane and began operating a gold beating business out of it. The initial growth of Matthew Swift's gold beating venture soon necessitated building a proper workshop for the business. The original factory was a single-story wooden structure built just to the south of Swift’s residence, this completed by ca. 1895. Continued success soon required further construction. Around the turn of the century the ca. 1895 shop was elevated and a brick first story constructed beneath it. In addition, a second two-story brick structure was erected to the south of the original building in order to provide additional space. It was also around this time that Matthew Swift brought his two sons, Matthew H. and Ernest Swift, into the firm and took on the title of the M. Swift and Sons Company. By 1902 M. Swift and Sons had established itself as the largest gold leaf beating firm in Connecticut and one of the most significant in the country. In an industry of 100 manufacturers and 1200 workers nationwide, the M. Swift and Sons Company employed a disproportionately high number of laborers. The firm retained thirty-two employees, sixteen of which were women. The employment numbers were double that of Swift's local competitor, George L. Bladon, and four times those of Swift's former employer, J. M. Ney. Understandably, gold beaters were considered master craftsmen and the skill and success of those that the M. Swift and Sons Company is clearly illustrated by the firm’s constant need for further expansion. By March 1903, the company had filed a permit to build another addition to the factory. The two-story brick building measured 24' x 118', nearly triple the size of the existing workshop. Matthew Swift died in 1912 and the company subsequently passed to his sons. Ernest died unexpectedly in 1915, however, Matthew H. Swift continued to run the company until his death in 1958. The company experienced considerable success during this period, this requiring numerous expansions to its plant and the growth of its workforce to over 200. In 1929, the company awarded a contract to builders A.F. Peaslee, Inc. to build a new two- story $100,000 addition, which doubled the overall size of the Love Lane plant. This was further increased with additions completed in 1947 and 1948. The post-World War II years were fat times for the company, however, the good times did not last forever. The establishment of a free market for gold in 1968, combined with shifting tastes and technologies, slowly unseated gold leaf as the product of choice for labeling, signage, and the decorative arts. The proliferation of neon and plastic, as well as the use of synthetic materials in printing and decorative accents, drove the slow decline of the gold beater's trade. While the firm of M. Swift and Sons survived thirty-seven years after the removal of the gold standard, the company's last years were marked by the slow decline experienced by many industries in the Hartford and the nation. In 2005, after the death of M. Allen Swift, grandson of Matthew Swift, the company finally succumbed to the growing pressures of a globalized economy, ceased operations, and closed its doors.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly nine (9) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

ca. 1887, ca. 1895, ca. 1900, 1903, 1929, 1947, 1948, ca. 1965.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former M. Swift and Sons Company plant consists of four primary structures located on the east side of Love Lane north of its intersection with Westland Street. These buildings include a two-story brick factory complex built in six stages between c.1900 and 1948, a frame residential structure dating to c.1887 (this later converted for use as an office and cafeteria), a one-story, four-bay, brick garage, built in 1941, and a one-story brick and metal-frame storage building built ca. 1965. The manufacturing building consists of six blocks. The first and oldest block is a two-story wood and brick structure built c. 1895. It was raised from its original one-story height around 1900. Measuring 32’ x 51’, it has a square-cut stone foundation, load-bearing red-brick masonry walls on the first story, wood clapboards on the second-story, and a front-facing gable roof. The factory’s second-oldest block is a c.1900 two-story addition located directly to the south of the original block. It measures 30' x 40' overall and has a square-cut stone block foundation, load-bearing red brick masonry walls, and a flat roof. The plant’s third block dates to 1903 and was built as an expansion to the south side of the c.1900 building. This 24' x 118' two-story addition replicates many of the features of the previous block yet has a pitched rather than flat roof. The factory's next addition was a two-story rectangular red brick block measuring 55’ x 178’. It has a 24' x 55' ell at the center of its west (side) elevation and was erected adjacent to the south elevation of the 1903 block in 1929. It is of brick pier construction and has a reinforced concrete foundation, rectangular window bays with brick spandrel panels, concrete lintels, multi-pane steel sash with awning-style window openings, a brick parapet with concrete coping, and a flat roof. The final portion of the factory consists of two rectangular blocks measuring 55' x 137' and 55' x 101', respectively. These were built adjacent to the north side of the 1929 block in 1947 and 1948. They replicate construction details from 1929 yet lack roofline parapets.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Wood

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• EPDM

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Good, Fair, Deteriorated

Condition Notes

The factory complex is in generally good condition, while a two-story frame building (formerly a residence and later an office and cafeteria) is in a fair to deteriorated state. The factory’s roof is currently being replaced and full exterior rehabilitation and window replacement is planned for the complex in 2015.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (10 Love Lane) totaling 1.58 acres at the northeast corner of the intersection of Love Lane and Westland Street.
Individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 2013.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 217-105-143 (for record, use link and type in address or parcel number) / Link →

Acreage

1.58

Use (Present)

• Mixed-Use
• Other: Redevelopment by Community Solutions as kitchen incubator, hydroponic farm, food businesses since c.2010. Ground breaking 9/2018; anticipate project cost of $34 million.

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

8/26/2014

Bibliography

1. List of Connecticut Manufacturers, 1922, 1924, 1930, 1932.
2. Directory of Connecticut State Manufacturers, 1936, 1939.
3. Atlases of the City of Hartford, 1869, 1880, 1909.
4. Industrial Directory of Connecticut, 1947.
5. Register of War Production Facilities in Connecticut, 1951.
6. Sanborn Map Company, 1917, 1920, 1922.
7. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1965.
8. The Hartford Courant, 1750-1960.
9. Karmazinas, Lucas. 2013. M. Swift & Sons Company Factory National Register Nomination No. 13000527.