Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Associated Spring Division of Barnes Group, Inc.
• Wallace Barnes Co. 1923

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products

Largest Documented Workforce

n/a

Historic Narrative

Spring production in Bristol grew out of the requirements of local clock manufacturers. Companies such as those of Edward Dunbar (1847) and Wallace Barnes (1857) subsequently broadened their output to include springs for machinery and vehicles, as well as such products as hoops for crinoline skirts and trouser leg-guard springs for bicyclists. No 19th-century production facilities from either the Dunbar or Barnes works have survived. The Barnes and Dunbar companies merged for a second time in 1923 (they had operated as one firm from 1857 to 1866). The site is occupied by Associated Spring Division of Barnes Group, Inc., which is descended from the merged spring company of 1923. (Roth) Wallace Barnes was one of several hundred companies that supplied parts for IBM's innovative 701 'defense computer,' which was the first commercially available large-scale electronic computer developed in 1951-52.

Number of Existing Buildings

Three (3) blocks.

Dates of Construction

1918, 1920s, 1968

Architect

Wescott & Mapes for 1968 addition

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

No 19th-century production facilities from either the Dunbar or Barnes works have survived. The oldest extant building is the 1918 Wallace Barnes Administration Building, a flat-slab reinforced concrete structure, 5-story and 109' x 66' with an 84' x 45' ell. Brick curtain walls and steel-sash windows fill the exterior panels. A 4-story flat-slab reinforced concrete factory, 241' x 61', built in the mid-1920s, is to the east of the Administration Building. (Roth) A 210,000 square foot addition was built c.1968 and designed by Wescott & Mapes.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete

Structural System(s)

• Structural Concrete

Roof Form

• Flat

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

n/a

Condition

n/a

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

Two parcels totaling 18.35 acres at the NEC of South and George Streets

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 30/ / 96 (18) / Link →
• 30/ / 96-1 (10) / Link →

Acreage

3.35; 15

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Industrial
• Other: The building at 10 Main Street is office space and for sale 11/2023.

Form Completed By

n/a

Date

n/a

Bibliography

1. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).
2. ‘IBM 701: A Notable First,’ IBM Archives (2002). Web; accessed November 2016.
3. Engineering News Record (1968)