Disclaimer: Content for these properties was compiled in 2014-2017 from a variety of sources and is subject to change. Updates are occasionally made under Property Information, however the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation (dba Preservation Connecticut) makes no representation or warranty that the information is complete or up-to-date.
Unknown.
Winchell Smith, Incorporated was organized in Farmington, Connecticut in 1923. The business was founded by Winchell Smith, the playwright perhaps best known for his most successful productions, Brewster’s Millions (1906) and Lightnin’ (1918). Smith was born in Hartford, Connecticut and graduated from Hartford High School. He was the nephew of William Gillette, the actor, playwright, and stage manager famous for his stage portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, in whose company Smith began his acting career. After achieving both critical acclaim and financial success during the 1910s, Smith went into semi-retirement in 1920. He took up residence in Farmington, Connecticut, where he had built a mansion, Millstream, in 1917, and pursued the peculiar hobby of grain milling. Inspired by the then popular whole foods movement, Smith purchased an early 18th-century flour mill located along the Farmington River and began milling whole grain wheat, rye, and buckwheat that was sold to Hartford bakeries. Smith also convinced filmmaker D.W. Griffith to shoot Way Down East (1920), starring Lillian Gish, at the site of the mill. Smith organized Winchell Smith, Incorporated in 1923 in order to expand his milling operations, as well as with the future intention of building several theaters and entering the film production business. Most significant to the former was Smith’s decision to erect a $100,000 flour mill and grain elevator along Farmington Avenue near the rail line operated by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. This was completed in 1924, and was operated by Smith until his business folded in 1931. The building was in turn leased to the Farmington Grain Company, which used it for grain and feed processing and storage until around 1936. By 1940, the property had been occupied by Farmington Farms, Incorporated, a poultry breeder. It is unclear how long this use persisted. The building has since been acquired for use as an automobile parts storage facility.
Roughly four (4) primary blocks.
1924, ca. 1950, ca. 1980.
n/a
n/a
The former Winchell Smith, Incorporated grain mill and elevator consists of roughly four adjoining and freestanding primary buildings located on the south side of Farmington Avenue, roughly 575’ southeast of Farmington Avenue’s intersection with Wannowmassa Lane and along the east side of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. The two original blocks were built in 1924. They consist of the main four-story mill and a one-story storage building. The main mill is of reinforced concrete construction and measures 144’ x 54’. It has a concrete foundation, concrete piers, bay-wide window openings with concrete sills and multipane metal windows with awning-style sash, a crenellated concrete parapet with concrete coping, and a flat roof. A tiered three-story tower of similar styling is located at the building’s southeast corner, and a two-story, reinforced concrete bridge supports a railroad siding that leads along the south (rear) elevation of the main block. A 110’ x 22’ metal-frame block adjoining the main mill’s south elevation shelters the eastern end of the railroad siding. It was built ca. 1950 and has corrugated metal siding, multipane pivot-story windows, and a side-gabled roof with corrugated metal sheathing. A two-story, 80’ x 60’ concrete block addition with a flat roof was erected adjoining the main mill’s east elevation ca. 1980. The storage block stands roughly 36’ north of the main mill. The storage building is a wood-frame structure with a concrete foundation, both vertical board and corrugated metal siding, small rectangular window openings with six-pane pivot-style sash, and a side-gabled roof with corrugated metal sheathing.
Fair
The plant is in fair condition. The majority of the original windows have been retained and the various blocks appear structurally sound.
One 2.88-acre parcel (1371 Farmington Ave.) located on the south side of Farmington Avenue, roughly 575’ southeast of Farmington Avenue’s intersection with Wannowmassa Lane and along the east side of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail.
Yes
2.88
Lucas A. Karmazinas
05/17/2016