Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Ansonia O. and A. Company 1892-c.1970
• Osborne and Cheesman Co. 1847-1892

Use (Historic)

• Apparel & Accessories
• Electrical Equipment
• Textiles

Largest Documented Workforce

600 (1922)

Historic Narrative

The Osborne and Cheesman Company was organized by John W. Osborne and George W. Cheesman (brother-in-laws) as early as 1847, and incorporated in 1866. According to 19th century sources, the firm built its Ansonia factory in 1861 at the site of the former Ansonia Clock Works, which had burned in 1854, and began by producing sheet brass and brass ware, as well as silver ware, products which it manufactured until around 1890. Cheesman held a patent for clasps for skirt-hoops dated 1866. After John Osborne’s retirement in the 1870s, his son Wilbur F. Osborne (1841-1907), who was a major in the Civil War, became president of the company. Wilbur Osborne was awarded several patents, including one for suspender button straps in 1879 and one for suspender-ends in 1889, which the firm made together with garter webbings, elastic and lacing. George A. Schneller, a German immigrant, joined the operations for a short while in the 1860s, returning in 1882 to become part owner. Schneller himself held several patents, including an 1872 one for improved corset fasteners. In 1892, the firm name was changed to Ansonia O. and C. Co. The Ansonia O. and C. Company prospered on large government contracts during both World Wars, mainly producing belts and laces used by servicemen. In the post-war periods they produced elastics, corset webbing, hose supporters, clothing cords and electrical cords. The company went out of business in the 1960s or 1970s, when most Connecticut textile firms declined. Today the building is partially tenanted.

Number of Existing Buildings

Seven (7) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

c.1880, c.1900, c.1905, 1911,1912,1914

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Loft

Architectural Description

The complex is made up of seven connected buildings. The oldest, constructed c.1880, parallels Main Street; this four-story brick building (approx. 100 ft. by 50 ft.) was occupied by a machine shop on the first floor and weaving operations on the upper floors. Between 1895 and 1900 a three-story, yellow brick, neo-classical office building (approx. 40 ft. sq.) was added along East Main Street. The five-story L-shaped brick building at the southwest corner of the site (approx. 110 ft. by 110 ft.), built between 1900 and 1906, housed the company’s shipping, finishing, winding, glazing and braiding operations. Adjoining it to the east, along Kingston Drive, is a concrete, four-story, L-shaped building built in three stages (approx. 110 ft. by 220 ft.), 1911, 1912 and 1914. The newest construction is four-story concrete building at the northeast corner.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Structural Concrete
• Structural Steel or Iron
• Wood Frame

Roof Form

• Flat

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Good, Fair, Deteriorated

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

The Former Ansonia O. and C. Company factory sits north of Kingston Drive, east of Main Street and west of East Main Street in Ansonia. The 1.63 acre site is comprised of three legal parcels: 153 Main Street, 497 East Main Street and 501 East Main Street.

OFFICE BUILDING ONLY located in the Upper Main Street National Historic District (1982).

http://npgallery.nps.gov/nrhp/GetAsset?assetID=7a44399a-b76f-4359-a9de-f74f8e5119f3

Adjacent To

• Business District
• Main Roads
• Railroad
• Water (for Transport)

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 04400340000 (for record, use link and type in address or parcel number) / Link →
• 04400350000 (for record, use link and type in address or parcel number) / Link →
• 04400200000 (for record, use link and type in address or parcel number) / Link →

Acreage

1.63

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Other: As of 1/2020, Shaw Growth Ventures Inc. of Berne NY is proposing redev over 5 years into 400 market-rate apartments at 497 and 501 East Main Street blocks; Shaw Growth Ventures till owns early 20th century reinforced concrete lofts as of 1/2023. 6/2020 update Bella Vista Ansonia LLC received P&Z approval for mixed use redev (92 market rate apartments; 14,000 sqft retail/comm). Purchased c.1880 and c.1875 blocks 3/2021; interior demo for apartments started; 1/2023 Bella Vista apartments are finished in the 1880 block identified as 153 Main Street. 12/2022 DECD awarded $990k for abatement/remediation of "former Farrel" building at 501 East Main St.
• Residential
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Michael Forino

Date

August 2014

Bibliography

1. Specifications and Drawings of Patents Issued from the United States Patent Office for September 1879 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1879).
2. Farley’s Directory of the Metal Workers of the United States, Canada and the British Provinces (Phila: Farley Paul and Baker, 1883).
3. Leading Business Men of New Haven County (Boston: Mercantile Publishing Co., 1887).
4. History of New Haven County, Connecticut, vol.2, John L. Rockey (New York: W. W. Preston, 1892).
5. Commemorative Biographical Record of New Haven County, Connecticut (Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co., 1902).
6. The New England Business Directory and Gazeteer for 1922, Nbr. 30 (Boston: Sampson and Murdock Co., 1922).
7. 'Interesting Connecticut Industry,' The Hartford Courant, June 27, 1930.
8. George W. Cheesman.
9. Patent information accessed through Google: Wilbur F. Osborne.
10. Patent information accessed through Google: George Otto Schneller.
11. Sanborn Insurance Atlases.
12. Patent information accessed through Google: Wilbur F. Osborne.