Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Baird Machine Co. c.1912-2007

Use (Historic)

n/a

Largest Documented Workforce

250 (1922)

Historic Narrative

The Baird Machine Company was organized in 1847 as a small machine tool shop in then Huntington (now Shelton), Connecticut. It moved to the Oakville section of Waterbury in 1849, and was incorporated in 1894. The company moved again c.1912 to its new factory at the current location in Stratford. A 1912 article in 'The Iron Age' describes the facility in great detail as a model of modern machine shop design: for production efficiency, employee safety and easy expansion. Equipment and furnishings included a Shaw traveling crane, movable steel staircase, G. Drouve Co. skylights, Yale and Towne traveling hoist, Niles-Bement-Pond steam hammer, Terry steam turbines for power generation, General Fire Extinguisher Co. automatic sprinkers, and an internal Autocall phone system. Products were industrial machines such as wire and ribbon metal formers, presses, tumbling equipment, automatic chucking machines, and slide form machines. Production expanded leading up to and during World War II, when Baird received large contracts from the U. S. government. In 1954, Baird took over Beaver Tractor, a riding tractor manufacturer, moving its operations to the Stratford plant. Business declined after the 1950s until the company assets were sold in 2007 and the name was acquired by Baird Machinery Corporation which moved operations to the former Hallden Machine Company factory in Thomaston, CT.

Number of Existing Buildings

Ten (10) blocks.

Dates of Construction

1912-c.1940

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The oldest buildings on the site date from c. 1912-1913. The office building (1912-1913), which runs perpendicular to Stratford Avenue is a two-story brick building with a flat roof. To the north, there is a two story saw tooth building (1912-1913) with a c.1930-1940 addition to the west. To the north of the saw tooth building is a one-story brick, monitor roof storage building (1912-1913). To the north of the storage house is a two-story gable roof powerhouse (1912-1913). To the east of the storehouse is another one-story monitor roof building (1912-1913). Attached to the north is a gable roof production shed building between 1924 and 1949. To the east and southeast of the production shed, there is a series of 4 post 1940s steel frame production buildings.

Exterior Material(s)

n/a

Structural System(s)

n/a

Roof Form

n/a

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

n/a

Condition

Good, Fair, Deteriorated

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

The former Baird Machine Company building is located north of Stratford Avenue and west of Rachel Drive in Stratford, Connecticut. The complex sits just south of the railroad tracks, and originally had its own rail yard.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 30 /8 / 20 / 3 / Link →

Acreage

6.66

Use (Present)

n/a

Form Completed By

Mike Forino

Date

August 2014

Bibliography

1. 1947 Industrial Directory of Connecticut.
2. 1919 Bridgeport, Stratford, Fairfield and Southport City Directory.
3. 1945 Connecticut Directory of Manufacturing and Mechanical Establishments.
4. The Hartford Courant, 1920-1954.
5. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, Startford, CT, 1912-1949.
6. 'The Baird Machine Company's New Shops,' The Iron Age, Vol. 90 (New York: The Iron Age, October 17, 1912).
7. The New England Business Directory and Gazeteer for 1922, Nbr. 30 (Boston: Sampson and Murdock Co., 1922).