Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Nielson Hardware Co. 1944-ca. 2010
• Nielson Tool & Die Co. 1942-ca. 2010

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products
• Machine Tools, Machinery

Largest Documented Workforce

10-24 (1939).

Historic Narrative

The Nielsen Tool and Die Company was originally organized in Hartford, Connecticut as the Nielsen and Wilson Tool Company in 1916. The founders of the firm consisted of Asjar T. Nielsen and Albert E. Wilson, both of Hartford. The business consisted of a small tool and dieworks and initially operated from a shop on Asylum Street. This moved several times during the early years as the company’s philosophy of producing premium products on short timelines earned them a reliable clientele and room for growth. The company was incorporated with $15,000 in capital on August 2, 1918, by which time the plant was located on Sheldon Street and the business led by Nielsen as president and Wilson as secretary and treasurer. In 1920, Nielsen and Wilson secured exclusive rights to manufacture the Barnes Self-Winding Switch, an early form of automatic timer for electric lights. The company acquired what was only a rough patent in 1920 and for more than two years worked to refine it into a marketable product. This work was in its final stages by 1922 when the device was described as a 6-inch by 12-inch fire and waterproof cast iron box that could be used to control lighting in such applications as farms, apartment buildings, and advertising signage. At the time, the company was also involved in work for the Aetna Radio Corporation, which included the production of moulds, dies, and special tools used in production as well as in the manufacture of delicate condensers used in radio sets. During the late 1930s two of Nielsen’s sons, Milton E. and Randolph T. Nielson, joined the business and in 1938 it was reorganized as the Nielsen Tool and Die Company. In 1942 Nielsen Tool and Die purchased plant on Wethersfield Avenue that had recently been built and occupied by the General Motors Sales Corporation and then the John M. Lee Company. This was largely driven by reliable work secured by Nielsen Tool and Die from such firms as the Royal Typewriter and Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Companies, however, the company soon dedicated all of its production capacity towards the war effort during World War Two. In 1944, Asjar T. Nielsen died and the business passed to his sons. Milton E. and Randolph T. Nielson initiated a shift in the company’s focus as a line of specialized case and container hardware was introduced. This was accompanied by the creation of the Nielsen Hardware Corporation, which operated alongside the tool and die business until 1993 when the firm acquired J.H. Sessions and Sons, a Bristol, Connecticut-based latch and hardware manufacturer established in 1854. The resultant Nielson-Sessions Company continued to operate its Hartford branch into the early 2000s, yet eventually sold the plant in 2010. Today it serves as a collection facility for a local non-profit.

Number of Existing Buildings

Eleven (11) primary adjoining blocks.

Dates of Construction

ca. 1940, ca. 1960.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Nielsen Tool and Die Company plant is comprised of roughly eleven primary adjoining blocks located on the east side of Wethersfield Avenue, opposite Wethersfield Avenue’s intersection with Roosevelt Street. The earliest section of the plant consists of three one-story red brick blocks erected ca. 1940. These are surrounded with adjoining additions to the east, south, and west that were built ca. 1960. The blocks comprising the original facility measured roughly 58’ x 138’ overall and all have flat roofs, one of these interrupted by a 4’-tall clerestory monitor running east-west the length of the block. The architectural details of the original blocks has largely been obscured by the later additions, however, large rectangular window openings with multi-pane metal sash remain visible along the north elevation of one of the blocks. The additions to the Nielsen Tool and Die Company plant consisted of a series of one- and two-story blocks erected as needed but without a formal overall plan. The result is a irregular footprint measuring roughly 176’ x 280’ that is comprised of blocks as small as 40’ x 41’ and as large as 52’ x 120’. These have a variety of window openings and sash arrangements, however, most are of red brick construction with rectangular window openings, concrete windowsills, multi-pane metal sash with hopper-style openings, plain brick parapets with concrete coping, and flat roofs. Of particular note are the one-story, 62’ x 32’ office block at the northwest corner of the plant, which has large ribbon windows and a flat metal awning projecting over a metal and glass-enclosed entryway; and a one-story, 22’ x 58’ corrugated metal Quonset hut located on the southern side of the complex that links two blocks to the east and west.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Steel

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Clerestory Monitor
• Flat
• Monitor
• Round

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• Metal
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in fair condition. Some of the exterior walls are in need of cleaning and many of the original windows have been replaced or boarded up, however, the plant appears well maintained overall.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (770 Wethersfield Avenue) totaling 3.199 acres located on the east side of Wethersfield Avenue, opposite Wethersfield Avenue’s intersection with Roosevelt Street.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 277/815/210 (for record, use link and type in address or parcel number) / Link →

Acreage

3.199

Use (Present)

n/a

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

09/01/2015

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, 1885, 1900, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1950.
8. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1965.
9. Hartford City Directories, Various editions.
10. The Hartford Courant, 1918, 1922, 1938, 1942, 1944, 1988.
11. Nielson Hardware website, About us, 2015.