Mill Record Norwalk

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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.

Complex Name (Common)
Boese, Peppard & Co.
Complex Name (Historic)
  • Boese, Peppard & Co.
Address or Location
2 Merritt Place, South Norwalk, Norwalk
County
Fairfield
Historic Designation
Associated Mill Community
n/a
Historic Information

Companies Associated w/Complex

  • Boese & Peppard Co. 1908-1912
  • Boese, Peppard & Co. 1905-1908
  • Edwin Boese & Co. 1912-ca. 1920
  • Higley Machine Co. 1919-ca. 1930
  • Malkin Plastics Co. ca. 1950-ca. 1955
  • Mayer Handbag Co. ca. 1939-ca. 1955
  • Peppard Embroidery Works 1912-ca. 1919
  • Samson Knitting Co. ca. 1955-1970

Use (Historic)

Largest Documented Workforce

100-199 (1939).

Historic Narrative

This plant was originally constructed by the New York, New York-based textile manufacturer Boese, Peppard and Company between 1904 and 1905. Boese, Peppard and Company was organized in 1883 as a partnership between Edwin Boese, John A. Peppard, and Arnold Roos, and the firm specialized in the production of lace and other novelty items such as embroidered handkerchiefs. The company relocated its manufacturing plant to South Norwalk in 1905, where it initially employed 51 hands. In 1908, Boese and Peppard bought out their partner and the firm was reorganized as the Boese and Peppard Company. This entity lasted until 1912, when the two partners divided the company and established the Peppard Embroidery Works and Edwin Boese and Company, respectively. The two businesses continued the share the Merritt Place factory, however, it appears that the former partnership had gone sour. By 1919, the Peppard Embroidery Works had vacated the plant and been replaced by the Higley Machine Company, a New York, New York-based manufacturer of saws and grinding tools. Around 1920, the Higley Machine Company assumed full control of the factory after Edwin Boese and Company moved to a new plant (since demolished) at what is now 46 Chestnut Street. The Higley Machine Company remained in Norwalk until around 1930, after which plant passed to the Mayer Handbag Company. The Mayer Handbag Company was founded in 1936 by Harry S. Mayer of Norwalk, who moved the company from Haviland Street to Merritt Place around 1939. Mayer Handbag was joined in the factory by the Malkin Plastics Company by 1950, however, both firms had vacated the plant by 1958. It was then acquired by the Samson Knitting Company, which remained in business until 1970. The plant remained vacant for much of the 1970s and has since been owned by a variety of short-term occupants or developers.

Architectural Information

Number of Existing Buildings

Four (4) adjoining primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1905, ca. 1930, ca. 1940.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

Architectural Description

The former Boese, Peppard and Company plant is comprised of four primary adjoining blocks located on the south side of Merritt Place, at the southwest corner of Merritt Place’s intersection with Chestnut Street. The factory’s main manufacturing building is a two-story, 68’ x 123’ red brick block erected between 1904 and 1905. The building is of brick pier construction and has full-height window bays with corbelled brick headers, segmental arched window openings with stone sills, multipane metal windows with pivot-style openings, a corbelled brick cornice, and a flat roof. A single pyramidal skylight is centered on the building’s roof and extends nearly the full length of the block. Two door openings on the eight-bay façade (east elevation) provide access to the building. These have paneled wood surrounds with 14-light and paneled wood transoms. A one-story, 20’ x 68’ red brick boiler house and storage building adjoins the west elevation of the main manufacturing block. This was erected as part of the original mill and is identical in detailing to the main block. A one-story, 18’ x 68’ concrete block addition was built adjoining the accessory block’s west elevation ca. 1930. This is of a utilitarian design and has rectangular window openings, a concrete block parapet, and a flat roof. The final block associated with the plant was erected at the eastern end of the north elevation ca. 1940. This consists of a one-story, 13’ x 35’ red brick shipping ell. The block has rectangular window openings with multipane metal sash and pivot-style openings, and a flat roof. A single loading bay with a roll-up style door is located on its west (rear) elevation.

Exterior Material(s)

Structural System(s)

Roof Form

Roof Material

Power Source

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in fair condition. Although the exterior walls appear structurally sound, the windows throughout the plant are either missing, boarded over, or heavily deteriorated.

Property Information

Specific Location

One legal parcel (2 Merritt Place) totaling 0.55 acres located on the south side of Merritt Place, at the southwest corner of Merritt Place’s intersection with Chestnut Street.

Individually listed on the State Register of Historic Places.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

Acreage

0.55

Use (Present)

Sources

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

11/06/2015

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. Map of New Haven County; Clark, Richard, 1859.
  6. Atlas of New Haven County, Beers, Ellis & Soule, 1868.
  7. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1951, 1965, 1970, 1985.
  8. Sanborn Map Company, 1891, 1896, 1901, 1906, 1922, 1950, 1958.
  9. Norwalk Directory; Various editions.
  10. New York Times, 1908, 1952.
  11. Norwalk Hour, 1870.
  12. Norwalk after Two-hundred & Fifty Years; Norwalk Historical and Memorial Library Assoc., 1901.
  13. Norwalk; Grant, Lisa Wilson, 2014.
  14. State Register Nomination on file at office of SHPO, Hartford CT.
Representative View(s)Click on image to view full file



Photographer

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Photography Date

11/06/2015