Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Able Scale & Equipment Corp. ca. 1955-Present (2015)
• Carlyle Johnson Machine Co. ca. 1929-ca. 1955
• Manchester Herald ca. 1893-1929

Use (Historic)

• Clocks, Precision Equipment
• Transportation
• Other: Printing

Largest Documented Workforce

Unknown.

Historic Narrative

Manchester’s first newspaper, the ‘Weekly Times’, was established in 1847 yet met with little success and soon closed. Another attempt at producing a proprietary paper was not made until 1881 when Elwood S. Ela and Thomas S. Pratt established the ‘Herald’, which was the state’s first four-page semi-weekly publication. Reporting and editorial work was conducted in Manchester by Ela, while Pratt oversaw printing in the Rockville section of Vernon, Connecticut. This arrangement was continued until Ela bought out Pratt’s interest in the firm in 1885 and shifted typesetting to Manchester and printing to a shop in Hartford. Ela continued in this manner until the late 1890s, when a full-service printing operation was established on Main Street in Manchester. The Herald moved to newly-erected plant on Hilliard Street, built specifically for the paper ca. 1893, occupying it until 1929. During the early 1900s, the second floor was rented to the Thrasher Clock Company, however, the firm vacated the building by 1911. In 1914, semi-weekly publication gave way to a daily paper and the organization was incorporated. Two new partners and long-time Herald employees, Thomas Ferguson and E.H. Crosby, joined Ela at this time with Ferguson assuming the role of the firm’s secretary and plant supervisor, while Crosby served as advertising manager. Daily publication of the Herald continued uninterrupted until November 17, 1922, when a devastating fire ripped through the paper’s print shop. This caused $75,000 in damage and threatened to end operations. The publication survived, however, with help from local newspapers including ‘The News’ of Manchester and the Hartford Courant, which provided space and printing presses so that the Herald could continue to be published. Despite early fears of the extent of the loss the firm eventually repaired their Hilliard Street print shop and by 1923 boasted circulation totals of 3,944 copies. Thomas Ferguson took over management of the Herald in 1924 and oversaw its move to a new location on Bissell Street in 1929. He continued to oversee the paper until his death in 1951. Following the departure of the Herald, the vacated print shop was soon acquired by the Carlyle Johnson Machine Company, a manufacturer of friction clutches that maintained the large plant directly to the south. Carlyle maintained the building as a machine shop until the mid-1950s when it passed to its present occupant, the Able Scale and Equipment Corporation, a firm specializing in tool and hardware sales and repair services.

Number of Existing Buildings

Two (2) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

ca. 1893, ca. 1960.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

The former Manchester Herald newspaper plant is comprised of two adjoining blocks located on the south side of Hilliard Street roughly 100’ from its intersection with Main Street. The original building is a two-and-a-half-story, 35’ x 98’ red brick structure erected ca. 1893. This has a brick foundation, raised basement, round and diamond-shaped masonry wall anchors, segmental-arched window openings with brownstone sills, and a front-facing low-pitch gable roof. The four-bay façade has an offset entry on its east side, this sheltered by a gabled portico with scroll-cut wood brackets and stickwork in its pedimented gable. The segmental-arched lintels on the façade are characterized by a pattern of alternating recessed bricks that is not utilized on the remaining elevations. The windows are filled with hopper-style metal sash, these likely installed following a 1922 fire that heavily damaged the building. A red brick chimney is located at the southeast corner of the building. A one-story concrete block addition with a pitched roof was installed at the original block’s southwest corner ca. 1960. This wraps around the west and south sides of the building and measures roughly 23’ x 78’ overall. The addition has a roll-up garage-style opening on its north elevation and hopper-style metal sash on its east and west sides.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete Block

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The factory is in overall fair condition. Although sections of the plant show some staining and deterioration along their exterior walls the majority of the plant appears to be structurally sound and well maintained.

Specific Location

One 0.17-acre parcel (10 Hilliard Street) on the south side of Hilliard Street roughly 100’ from its intersection with Main Street.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 75/ 2920/ 10 / Link →

Acreage

0.17

Use (Present)

• Commercial

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

04/13/2015

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, 1896, 1901, 1911, 1919, 1926, 1947.
8. Hartford Courant, 1907, 1922, 1923, 1929.
9. History of Manchester, Connecticut; Spiess, Mathias, 1924.
10. A New England Pattern: The History of Manchester, Connecticut; Buckley, William E., 1973.
11. Historic Resource Inventory of Manchester, 1998.