Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Mills & Co. 1889-1906
• W.S. Mills Co. 1906-1931

Use (Historic)

• Apparel & Accessories
• Fabricated Metal Products
• Machine Tools, Machinery

Largest Documented Workforce

100 (1917).

Historic Narrative

The W.S Mills Company was established in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1889. The firm was founded by W.S. Mills, a native of North Yarmouth, Maine, and the son of Dwight P. Mills, founder of the Dunham Hosiery Company (later Dunham Mills, Incorporated) of Naugatuck, Connecticut. W.S. Mills received his primary school education in Maine yet later attended the Russell Military School in New Haven, Connecticut. Upon graduation, Mills was employed by his father, however, he left the family business in 1888 in order to take a position as a traveling mechanic with the Willimantic Linen Company. Mills served in this role for one year before establishing his own firm in Bridgeport in 1889. The business established by W.S. Mills specialized in the manufacture of knit underwear, primarily for infants and children. The firm initially operated as Mills and Company and occupied a rented shop near the intersection of Railroad Avenue and Warren Street in Bridgeport, however, a dedicated plant was erected for the company between Parallel and Wells Streets in 1893. The business was incorporated as the W.S. Mills Company in 1906, with W.S. Mills, T.J. Ferguson, and Edward J. Daly, all residents of Bridgeport, comprising the original incorporators and directors. High demand for the company’s products during the early 1900s necessitated a significant increase in the size of the company’s plant and a substantial addition was erected on the north side of the original factory around 1910. By the late 1910s, the W.S. Mills Company employed roughly 100 hands, around 75 of them being female workers and 5 consisting of traveling salesmen who marketed products to retailers throughout the United States and Canada. The firm’s output this time totaled over 250-dozen pairs of underwear per day, this consisting of a range of mid- to high-priced goods. The company was most notable for its ‘Little Princess’ line of garments, however, all of its products were celebrated for their overall quality. A local advertisement from 1922 noted, ‘The wondrously clean factory in which these garments are made is worthy of comment but the workmanship and general appearance of the goods shows plainly that they could not have come from other than a well organized concern.’ The W.S. Mills Company remained profitable through the 1920s, but the firm eventually closed its doors in 1931. After the W.S. Mills Company ceased operations, its Wells Street factory was subsequently occupied by a number of relatively short-term tenants. Among these were the Kaufman Bath Robe Company, which shared the plant with the W.S. Mills Company during the late 1920s and early 1930s. By the late 1930s, the mill’s occupants included Aldo and Paoli, contractors; the American Products Company, metal spinners; the Harry V. Costello Company, underwear manufacturers; and the Glamour Bag Company, pocketbook manufacturers. A decade later, only the Harry V. Costello Company remained, with the other tenants consisting of the C and S Tool Company, a machine shop; the Edward A. Corner Company, corset manufacturers; the United Products Corporation, plastic fabricators; and the Mohawk Tool and Die Manufacturing Company, Incorporated. Notably, the latter continues to operate within the former W.S. Mills Company factory.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly four (4) adjoining primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1893, ca. 1910.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Powerhouse

Architectural Description

The former W.S. Mills Company mill is comprised of four adjoining primary blocks located on the south side of Wells Street, roughly 100’ west of Wells Street’s intersection with Housatonic Avenue. The original factory consists of the two blocks comprising the southern half of the plant, these erected in 1893. The 1893 blocks include a three-and-a-half-story, 40’ x 70’ red brick manufacturing building, which has a four-story, 45’ x 18’ office and boiler house adjoining its north elevation. Both blocks have red brick walls, segmental-arched window openings with stone sills, and multipane metal sash with pivot-style openings. The manufacturing building has a front-facing gable roof, while the roof of the office block is flat. Two three-and-a-half-story red brick blocks were erected on the north side of the original factory around 1910. A 38’ x 42’ block adjoining the north elevation of the original office building housed a new boiler plant, as well as packing, knitting, and drying operations. The second 1910 addition, this measuring 48’ x 68’, adjoins the north elevation of the new boiler house and packing, knitting, and drying building and housed shipping, winding, and knitting operations. Both of the 1910 blocks have red brick walls, segmental-arched window openings with stone sills, and a mix of multipane metal sash with pivot-style openings and three-over-three double-hung wood windows. The new boiler house and packing, knitting, and drying building has a flat roof, while the shipping, winding, and knitting block has a front-facing gable roof with four sawtooth monitors and a denticulated brick cornice on its façade (north elevation). The primary entrance to the factory is located on the west side of the shipping, winding, and knitting block’s facade. The entry consists of a replacement metal door set in a segmental-arched opening and topped by a multipane transom.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable
• Sawtooth

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Good

Condition Notes

The complex is in good condition. The exterior walls are in need of cleaning and minor repairs, however, the mill retains a mix of original or early windows and appears to be well maintained overall.

Specific Location

One 0.64-acre parcel (25 Wells Street) located on the south side of Wells Street, roughly 100’ west of Wells Street’s intersection with Housatonic Avenue.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 47/1511/20/A / Link →

Acreage

0.64

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Industrial

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

01/22/2016

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 Fairfield County; Baker, William A., 1854.
6. Atlas of the City of Bridgeport; J.B. Beers & Co., 1876.
7. Atlas of the City and Town of Bridgeport; G.M. Hopkins & Co., 1888, 1917.
8. Atlas of Bridgeport; Kershaw, William H., 1910.
9. Sanborn Map Company, 1884, 1888, 1898, 1904, 1913, 1939, 1950.
10. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1951, 1965, 1970, 1985.
11. Bridgeport City Directory, Various editions.
12. Hartford Courant, 1906.
13. The Norwalk Hour, 1922.
14. A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport; Orcutt, Samuel, 1886.
15. History of Bridgeport and Vicinity; S.J. Clarke Publishing, 1917.