Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• New Departure Division Forge Plant, General Motors Corporation 1922-1965

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products

Largest Documented Workforce

Specific Plant, 500 (1941), Co

Historic Narrative

The New Departure Manufacturing Company was established by brothers Albert F. and Edward D. Rockwell in 1888. Natives of Jacksonville, Florida, the Rockwells had previously managed a retail hardware business in that city, however, this had been forced to close following a yellow fever epidemic. In the meantime, A.F. Rockwell had patented a new design of doorbell, which the brothers then determined to put into production. The bell’s operation depended on clock mechanisms and this brought the Rockwells to Bristol in search of a manufacturer they could partner with. They ended up contracting with Hiram C. Thompson, who produced the requisite clock work and rented the Rockwells space for an office, assembly, and packing shop. The brothers called their venture the New Departure Bell Company, a name that would soon rise to prominence in Bristol’s industrial landscape. During the 1890s, the Rockwell brothers were quick to capitalize on the popularity of the bicycle and soon expanded their catalog to include a variety of bicycle accessories. These included bicycle bells, lamps, and eventually, a coaster brake, which the company soon began to produce in a new plant they had acquired on North Main Street in Bristol. By the late 1890s, the New Departure Bell Company was producing upwards of 20,000 bells and 5,400 coaster brakes per day. The popularity of the latter product soon led the firm to change simplify its name to the New Departure Manufacturing Company in 1901. The development of New Departure’s coaster brake was particularly significant as it depended upon steel bearings for its smooth operation. As the bicycle fad was replaced by that of the automobile New Departure was well situated to benefit from the latter machine’s dependence on a variety of metal bearings. After manufacturing its first spherical metal bearing in 1906, the firm soon became one of the most prominent producers of ball bearings in the world. As it built up a massive plant on both sides of North Main Street employment rose into the hundreds by the 1910s. Albert F. Rockwell resigned as president of New Departure in 1913 due to differences with a number of the firm’s directors. He was replaced by DeWitt Page, who successfully oversaw the Departure’s merger with one of its largest customers, the General Motors Corporation, in 1919. General Motors continued to expand operations in Bristol and in 1922 erected what was identified at the time as one of the most modern and well-equipped forge plants in the country. This was located north of Terryville Avenue on Franklin Street and was staffed by 250 employees. Despite being impacted by the financial difficulties experienced throughout the country during the 1930s, the New Departure plant continued to expand in this period. By 1933, the firm was the largest in Bristol, consuming half of the city’s electricity and water and boasting two million square feet of floor space on North Main, Franklin, and Center Streets. That year the company produced three-quarters of the ball bearings used in the United States and half of those manufactured globally. General Motors shifted all of the manufacturing capacity at its New Departure plants towards the war effort following the outbreak of World War II and in 1941 contracted with the U.S. Government to erect a substantial addition to its forge plant. This was to cost $500,000 and be equipped with $2,442,355 of equipment dedicated to the production of ball bearings for propellers and other airplane components. The expansion accommodated several hundred additional workers at the Franklin Street plant as well as helped fuel the company’s continued success in the post-war period whereupon many administrative and production activities were centralized at the Forge Plant. The Forge Plant was maintained until 1965 when General Motors merged its New Departure and Hyatt divisions and built a new modern factory on Chippens Hill along James P. Casey Road.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly nine (9) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1922, ca. 1925, ca. 1934, 1942, ca. 1950.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Mill
• Powerhouse
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

General Motors’ former New Departure Division Forge Plant is comprised of roughly nine mixed freestanding and adjoining primary blocks forming a sprawling complex located on the north side of Terryville Avenue at the northern terminus of Franklin Street. The plant was built in five phases, these completed in 1922, ca.1925, ca. 1934, 1942, and ca. 1950. The 1922 buildings are located on the western half of the site and include a forge shop, machine shop, bar storage building, and garage. The machine shop is a one-story red brick building with large window openings and steel frame sash. The structure originally measured 268’ x 74’, yet was lengthened to 516’ ca. 1925, and then 608’ ca. 1950. The building has a flat roof, this topped by a single clerestory monitor extending the full length of the structure. The forge shop is located directly north of the machine shop and is a one-story steel-frame building with brick curtain walls framing large window openings with steel frame sash. It originally measured 130’ x 398’, yet was lengthened to 611’ ca. 1925, and then 810’ ca. 1934. The building has a flat roof, this topped by 25 parallel rows of clerestory monitors. The bar storage building is a one-story steel-frame structure with corrugated metal sheathing and a side-gabled roof situated directly north of the forge shop. The bar storage building originally measured 256’ x 74’, but was lengthened to 396’ ca. 1925. The next primary addition to the Forge Plant came ca. 1925 when a new powerplant was built for the factory. This is located roughly 200’ northeast of the aforementioned forge shop and is a one- and two-story red brick structure with prominent brick piers framing large window openings. The powerplant measures approximately 120’ x 54’ overall. It has a flat roof topped by a brick parapet and concrete coping. The final additions to the Forge Plant are located directly south of the powerplant. It consists of three primary blocks, an office, machine shop, and annealing building, all built in 1942. The office is a two-story, 104’ x 60’ red brick block dominated by wide ribbon windows on each floor. The building’s primary entrance is centered on its west elevation and the roof is flat. The office’s east elevation abuts the two-story, 250’ x 362’ machine shop. The building has a steel frame with brick apron walls on its first floor and steel and glass sheathing above. The block’s flat roof is dominated by five eight-foot tall clerestory monitors, these glazed with turquoise-colored glass or fiberglass panels like the rest of the building’s fenestration. The annealing building abuts the northern elevation of the machine shop and is a three-story, 104’ x 300’ steel-frame block with brick apron walls on its first floor and steel and glass cladding above. Ribbon windows extend across the full-width of all of the building’s elevations and a clerestory monitor extends the full length of the roof. All of the fenestration is glazed with turquoise-colored glass or fiberglass panels.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Glass
• Steel

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Clerestory Monitor
• Flat
• Gable
• Monitor

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• Metal

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The factory is in fair condition. The majority of the exterior walls appear to be reasonably well maintained, however, show some signs of staining and minor deterioration. Many of the original metal sash windows, monitors, and skylights throughout the plant have been preserved, however, some are in deteriorated condition.

Specific Location

Three legal parcels (50, 72, & 100 Franklin St.) totaling 19.42 acres on the north side of Terryville Avenue, and at the northern terminus of Franklin Street.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads
• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 19/3 / Link →
• 22/1 Rear / Link →
• 19/1A / Link →

Acreage

19.42

Use (Present)

• Industrial
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas Karmazinas

Date

3/12/2015

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, 1884, 1890, 1895, 1900, 1905, 1911, 1916, 1921, 1928, 1951.
8. Bristol City Directory, 1860-1960.
9. Hartford Courant, 1922, 1941, 1965, 1972.
10. Our Yankee Heritage: The Making of Bristol, Beals, Carlton, 1954.
11. Bristol, Connecticut: In the Olden Time “New Cambridge,” Which Includes Forestville, Smith, Eddy N., 1907.