Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Abbott Ball Co. 1911-Present (2015)
• Goodwin Brothers Pottery Co. mid-to-late-19th c.-1911

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products
• Transportation

Largest Documented Workforce

110 (1921).

Historic Narrative

The Abbott Ball Company was organized by George E. Abbott, a former master mechanic at the New Departure Manufacturing Company, in 1909. Abbott’s firm was established for the manufacture of ball bearings and it originally occupied a small factory on Hicks Street in Hartford. The demand for the company’s product quickly rose to such a level that a new and larger plant was required and a property in the Elmwood section of West Hartford was purchased in 1911. Several red brick factory buildings were completed by 1912, and production was soon under way. The Abbott Ball Company was incorporated by George E. and Charles H. Abbott and Arthur L. Shipman in 1918. By 1921 the Abbott Ball Company plant had been enlarged several times and the company’s product lines expanded to include ball bearings manufactured from a variety of metals including steel, brass, and bronze. These were installed in an array of items, such as automobiles, bicycles, as well as electrical devices. The majority of the firm’s output, however, was dedicated to the manufacture of burnishing balls, which were used in the process of finishing and polishing the small metal parts required by many precision industries, among them typewriter, hardware, and lock manufacturers. This work employed 110 hands in 1921 and this staff turned out one-and-a-half to two tons of balls per day during that period. By 1930, the firm’s output had risen to 900,000 pounds of ball bearings per year. Further expansion of the Abbott Ball Company was completed during the 1950s and early 1960s and the production of bearings continues to take place on Railroad Place under the original firm’s name. Although the company is no longer managed by the Abbotts, it remains a family owned business specializing in high quality bearings and burnishing media manufactured in a variety of materials. Over five billion balls of various sizes are currently produced per year.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly eleven (11) adjoining primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

mid-to-late-19th c., 1911, 1915, ca. 1920, ca. 1940, 1964, 1950-1965.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Mill
• Powerhouse
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The Abbott Ball Company factory is comprised of roughly eleven adjoining and freestanding blocks located on the west side of Railroad Place, roughly 225’ south of New Britain Avenue. The oldest portions of the plant consist of the two one-story red brick blocks located at the northern edge of the complex. These were originally erected during the mid-to-late-19th century for the Goodwin Brothers Pottery Company, yet were acquired by the Abbott Ball Company in 1911. The larger of the two buildings has a T-shaped footprint and consists of a 140’ x 35’ gable-roofed block with a 20’ x 30’ cross-gable ell centered on its north elevation. The second block is located immediately to the northwest and is a 62’ x 30’ building with a side-gabled roof. The first blocks built specifically for the Abbott Ball Company are located at the core of the present complex and include a two-story, 43’ x 96’ red brick manufacturing block; a one-story, 96’ x 122’ red brick manufacturing block; and a one-and-a-half-story, 45’ x 50and#146; red brick boiler plant. These were erected in 1911. The boiler plant stands along Railroad Place and has a concrete foundation, recessed full-height window bays with corbelled headers, large rectangular window openings with concrete sills, multi-pane metal sash with hopper style openings, and a front-facing gable roof. The two-story factory building is of similar detailing and likewise fronts on Railroad Place yet has a low-pitch gable roof. The one-story manufacturing block adjoins the west elevation of the two-story manufacturing building and is notable for the two 5’-tall clerestory monitors that extend across the structure’s flat roof. Further additions to the Abbott Ball Company were completed between ca. 1920 and 1965. A one-story, 86’ x 50’ red brick manufacturing block was erected west of the boiler plant ca. 1920, and then was expanded to a total footprint of 86’ x 112’ between 1934 and 1950. A one-story, 58’ x 23’ red brick office block was also built between ca. 1920 and ca. 1965, this adjoining the southeast corner of the two 1911 manufacturing buildings. Several steel-frame manufacturing and storage blocks were built on the north and south sides of the plant between 1950 and 1965. The largest is a one-story, 63’ x 135’ steel-frame warehouse erected along the southern edge of the complex in 1964.

Exterior Material(s)

• Aluminum Siding or Paneling
• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Clerestory Monitor
• Flat
• Gable
• Monitor

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• Metal
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in fair condition. A number of the exterior walls are in need of cleaning or minor repairs and many of the original windows have been replaced with modern units. Overall, however, the plant is well maintained and appears sound.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (19 Railroad Place) totaling 5.14 acres located on the west side of Railroad Place, roughly 225’ south of New Britain Avenue.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads
• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• G15/4441/19. / Link →

Acreage

5.14

Use (Present)

• Industrial

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

8/17/2015

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. Atlas of Hartford City and West Hartford Town, Connecticut; L.J. Richards & Co., 1896.
6. Atlas of Hartford City and West Hartford Town, Connecticut; L.J. Richards & Co., 1909.
7. Sanborn Map Company, 1917, 1923, 1950.
8. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1965.
9. The Hartford Courant, 1912, 1918, 1921.
10. West Hartford; Hall, William H., 1930.