Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Artistic Wire Products Co. 1940-1960
• Eureka Silk Manufacturing Co. 1882-1894
• Merrick and Connant Manufacturing Co. 1880-1882
• Summit Thread Co. 1894-1940

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products
• Textiles

Largest Documented Workforce

200 (1900)

Historic Narrative

The earliest buildings associated with the former Summit Thread Company plant were erected by the Merrick and Conant Manufacturing Company in 1880. These replaced a frame structure that at one time or another previously housed a sawmill, carding mill, a coffin trim manufacturer, and the first manufacturing space occupied by the Gong Bell Manufacturing Company. The new plant consisted of two mills standing on the opposite sites of Summit Street and connected by an elevated footbridge, the latter no longer present. Merrick and Conant was controlled by local industrialists and its Board of Directors included representatives from the Bevin Brothers Manufacturing Company, the Gong Bell Company, and others. The firm produced a line of silk fabrics and other textiles yet operated just two years before it was sold to Eureka Silk Manufacturing Company of Canton, Massachusetts. The new owner thrived at the East Hampton location and by 1885 its workforce of over 200 was processing 80,000 pounds of silk per year. This activity continued until 1894, when the Eureka Silk Manufacturing Company transferred the mill to the Summit Thread Company, a producer of cotton thread and ready-wound bobbins for sewing machines. The Summit Thread Company was managed locally by members of the Cone family, however, its stock holders were the same as those controlling Eureka Silk, the majority of these interests being based in Boston. Despite this fact, the Summit Thread Company invested heavily in its East Hampton plant, both maintaining a constant workforce of around 200 hands and making various capital improvements, such as the continual introduction of modern machinery and the construction of a new three-story brick mill on the west side of Summit Street in 1914. The company prided itself on both customer service and innovation, this being reflected in two of its mottos, “Summit Service is at Your Service,” and “An old company with a young spirit.” The Summit Thread Company remained an East Hampton institution until the late 1930s when it was bought by the Belding, Heminway, Cortecelli Silk Mills Company and moved to Putnam, Connecticut. The transaction cost the town 160 jobs, however, between 50 and 100 of these were recouped in 1941 when the plant was purchased by the Artistic Wire Products Company of Linden, New Jersey. Artistic Wire remained in East Hampton until 1960, whereupon the company was relocated to Taftville, Connecticut. The Summit Street plant subsequently housed a variety of light industrial and commercial uses through the 1980s, yet today the plant stands vacant except for an automobile garage located in one of the support buildings.

Number of Existing Buildings

Nine (9) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1880, ca. 1910, 1914, ca. 1914, ca. 1950

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Mill
• Powerhouse
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Summit Thread Company plant is comprised of a complex of three primary buildings and various additional support structures, these located on the east and west sides of Summit Street near its intersection with Watrous Street and Starr Place. The factory’s two earliest manufacturing blocks were erected in 1880, one on each side of Summit Street. The western block is three stories tall and measures 174’ x 47’. It is of frame construction and has been sheathed in aluminum siding. There is a four-story red brick stair tower on its north elevation and a cluster of frame blocks on its western elevation that once housed another stair tower, as well as office use. Fenestration throughout the factory block is primarily historic (although not original) multi-pane steel sash, while that in the office ell consists of six-over-six double-hung frame windows. The main block has a low-pitch, front-gabled roof, while the stair towers and additions have a mix of hipped and shed roofs. The second of the two primary buildings built in 1880 is located on the east side of Summit Street and was once connected to its partner by an elevation pedestrian bridge. This two-story red brick block was enlarged around 1914 and presently measures 175’ x 38’. The building has an ashlar brownstone foundation, segmental-arched window openings with brownstone sills, and a low-pitch gable roof. A rectangular two-story ell projects from its west elevation and various small additions are located on its eastern side. A three-story red brick manufacturing block was constructed alongside the western mill in 1914. This replaced a number of earlier structures at the location (including the old powerhouse) and stands directly over Pocotopaug Creek. It has a concrete foundation (the northern wall of which formed by the dam built as part of the 1880 power system), rectangular window openings with brownstone sills and lintels, and a low-pitch front-gabled roof with exposed rafter tails. It is connected to its neighbor by a three-story red brick ell and an enclosed frame pedestrian bridge, these located at its northern and southern ends, respectively. Various accessory buildings support the primary structures comprising the former Summit Thread Company plant. These include, but are not limited to, a two-story frame mill (ca. 1880) standing northwest of the west mill, a two-story red brick storage building (ca. 1910) standing southwest of the east mill, and a two-story red brick boiler house (ca. 1914) standing south of the east mill.

Exterior Material(s)

• Aluminum Siding or Paneling
• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable
• Shed

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam
• Water (Turbine)

Condition

Fair, Deteriorated

Condition Notes

The complex is in generally fair condition, however, some of the exterior walls, windows, and roofs show signs of deterioration or have been replaced with modern materials. Many of the window openings have been infilled or boarded up.

Specific Location

Four legal parcels on either side of Summit Street at the intersection of Watrous Street (13 Summit Street and 1 and 13 Watrous Street), and one legal parcel near the northern terminus of Starr Place (2 Starr Place), totaling 4.37 acres.
Located in the Belltown Historic District.

Adjacent To

• Water (for Power)
• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 06A-59-12A / Link →
• 06A-62-2A / Link →
• 06A-59-12 / Link →
• 06A-59-13 / Link →

Acreage

4.37

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Other: 13 Summit St went to tax lien auction in 6/2019; no buyers. 6/2023 DECD awarded $200,000 grant for conduct assessment and planning activities at two historic sites located at 13 Summit Street and 1 Watrous Street, spanning 2.62 acres that was home to the former Summit Thread Company.
• 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, 1894, 1940, 1960.
9. The History and Architecture of East Hampton, 1980.
10. Long Ago, Not Far Away: An Illustrated History of Six Middlesex Country Towns, 1996.
11. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).
12. Cunningham, Jan. 1985. Belltown Historic District National Register Nomination No. 85003543. National Park Service.