Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Carpenter-Hayes Paper Box Company ca. 1942-ca. 2004
• L.S. Carpenter and Son 1904-1917
• M.L. Carpenter Paper Box Co. 1917-ca. 1942

Use (Historic)

• Paper & Wood Products

Largest Documented Workforce

10-24 (1939)

Historic Narrative

The earliest manifestation of what would eventually become the M.L. Carpenter Box Company was established by Samuel Skinner in 1858. This company produced paper boxes in an old saw mill located near the intersection of Skinner Street and Middletown Avenue (also the former site of the Bevin Wilcox Line Company). Around 1890, Skinner formed a partnership with LeGrand S. Carpenter, who in 1893 assumed full control of the firm and reorganized it as the L.S. Paper Box Company. By the early 1900s, the title of the firm had again been changed, after Carpenter brought his son, Milton L. Carpenter, into the business and renamed it L.S. Carpenter and Son. In 1904, L.S. Carpenter and Son moved into a newly constructed mill located on Walnut Avenue just east of the Gong Bell Manufacturing Company plant and directly opposite Watrous Street. By this time the company produced lines of both paper boxes and rubber stamps, however, the former remained its focus. After LeGrand Carpenter died in 1917 the company passed to his son, who reorganized it as the M.L. Carpenter Box Company. Milton Carpenter in turn managed the company until his own death in 1942. The M.L. Carpenter Box Company continued to operate through World War II, during which it was one of just five firms contracted to produce paper filters for aircraft. The company produced over 50 million filters by the war’s end, earning it a United States Air Force commendation. In 1943, the company was reorganized as the Carpenter-Hayes Paper Box Company, this under the management of Edmund W. Hayes. The company survived the massive fire that destroyed a portion of the former Gong Bell Manufacturing Company plant in 1973 and continued to operate into the early 2000s.

Number of Existing Buildings

One (1) block with additions.

Dates of Construction

1904, ca. 1920, ca. 1935, ca. 1947.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

The former M.L. Carpenter Box Company plant consists of a relatively small cluster of adjoining blocks located on the south side of Walnut Avenue. The original section of the factory was erected in 1904 and is a one-story frame block measuring roughly 96’ x 32’. The building has a side-gabled roof and one sawtooth monitor at its western end. Synthetic siding has been applied over the original clapboards and the windows have been replaced with double-hung vinyl sash. Numerous additions were constructed adjoining the main block throughout the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. A one-story frame block is located on the east elevation, while a one-story ell projecting from the western end of the north elevation has recently been removed. Several additional one-story blocks are located on the south (rear) side of the building, however, these are in various states of disrepair or collapse.

Exterior Material(s)

• Concrete Block
• Wood

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof Form

• Gable
• Sawtooth
• Shed

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity
• Gasoline Engine

Condition

Fair, Deteriorated

Condition Notes

The building is in fair to deteriorated condition. The exterior sheathing and windows of the main block have been replaced with modern materials and several of the building’s rear ells have however, some of the exterior walls, windows, and roofs show early signs of deterioration or have been replaced with modern materials.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (8 Walnut Avenue) totaling 1.09 acres on the south side of Walnut Avenue opposite its intersection with Watrous Street.

Adjacent To

• Business District
• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 06A/ 57/ 2A (eastern building) / Link →

Acreage

1.09

Use (Present)

• Industrial
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

12/8/2014

Bibliography

1. List of Connecticut Manufacturers, 1922, 1924, 1930, 1932.
2. Directory of Connecticut State Manufacturers, 1936, 1939.
3. Atlas of Middlesex County, F.W. Beers & Co., 1874.
4. Industrial Directory of Connecticut, 1947.
5. Register of War Production Facilities in Connecticut, 1951.
6. Sanborn Map Company, 1903, 1908, 1914, 1925, 1936.
7. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1965.
8. The Hartford Courant, 1904, 1917, 1942, 1947, 1959, 1973.
9. Long Ago, Not Far Away: An Illustrated History of Six Middlesex Country Towns, 1996.