Mill Record Bridgeport

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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)
Bridgeport Screw Co.
Complex Name (Historic)
  • Bridgeport Screw Co.
Address or Location
861 Union Avenue, Bridgeport
County
Fairfield
Historic Designation
Associated Mill Community
n/a
Historic Information

Companies Associated w/Complex

  • Bridgeport Screw Co. 1911-ca. 1942
  • Patmore Millwork Co. ca. 1942-late-20th c.
  • Rilling Dermetics Co. ca. 1950-1969

Use (Historic)

Largest Documented Workforce

400 (1917).

Historic Narrative

The Bridgeport Screw Company was established in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1911. The firm was organized by William H. Farrell, a native of New Haven, Connecticut, and a man with extensive experience in the metal, wire, and hardware industries. Farrell’s first job was with the New Haven Wire Company, however, he eventually went on to hold positions at the Oliver Roberts Company in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; the Salem Wire Nail Company of Salem, Ohio; the Kilmer Manufacturing Company in Newburg, New York; the Pittsburg Wire Company of Braddock, Pennsylvania; the Continental Wire Company in Granite City, Illinois; The Union Steel Company at Donara, Pennsylvania; and the Page Woven Wire Fence Company of Monessen, Pennsylvania. In 1906, Farrell accepted a position as the president of the Dominion Wire Manufacturing Company of Montreal, Canada, which counted the production of wood screws among its primary activities and it was this experience that largely prepared Farrell for his future venture in Connecticut. In 1911, after reorganizing the Dominion Wire Manufacturing Company’s plant and increasing overall annual production from 12,000 to 40,000 tons per annum, Farrell withdrew from the firm in order to establish the Bridgeport Screw Company. The firm was led by Farrell as president, while J.W. Seekings held the dual role of secretary and treasurer of the business. A new factory was erected on Williston Avenue in 1911, and this was substantially enlarged in 1916. By the late 1910s the company’s 400 employees were turning out over 1,000 pounds of screws per day and the firm’s plant was noted as one of the most modern and efficient in the business. William H. Farrell died in 1920. Only 55 years old, his death was unexpected, however, the Bridgeport Screw Company remained on stable footing as control of the business passed to his son, Ralph G. Farrell, who had served as vice president and general manager since 1916. A substantial addition to the plant was erected in 1920, and the business continued to diversify during the 1920s as the company began to produce screws and other hardware for the fledgling airplane and automobile industries. These were produced along with the firm’s various lines of wood and metal screws until around 1942 when the business was closed. The western half of the Williston Avenue factory subsequently passed to the Bridgeport-based Patmore Millwork Company, which previously occupied a shop at 718 Crescent Street in Bridgeport. The company manufactured windows, doors, and other millwork and occupied the plant until the late-20th century. The eastern half of the former Bridgeport Screw Company complex was occupied by the Rilling Dermetrics Company, a cosmetics research and manufacturing firm, during the 1950s and 1960s, however, Rilling Dermetrics vacated the plant in 1969 after the business moved to New York.

Architectural Information

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly eight (8) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1911, 1916, 1920, ca. 1951.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

Architectural Description

The former Bridgeport Screw Company plant is comprised of eight adjoining and freestanding primary blocks located on the north side of Williston Avenue, between Union Avenue to the east and Central Avenue to the west. The two original blocks were erected at the northwest corner of the intersection of Union and Williston Avenues in 1911. They consist of a two-story, 70’ x 300’ red brick manufacturing building, and a two-story, 48’ x 50’ red brick boiler plant. Both have concrete foundations, brick pier walls, both segmental-arched and rectangular window openings with concrete sills, corbelled red brick cornices, red brick parapets with corbelled cornices and tile coping, full-length clerestory monitors, and flat roofs. The boiler plant adjoins the center of the manufacturing block’s west (side) elevation. A two-story, 48’ x 116’ red brick addition was erected adjoining the west elevation of the manufacturing block and south elevation of the boiler plant in 1916. This is identical in detail to the two original blocks and its integration with the plant is largely seamless. The plant was expanded again in 1920 when a two-story, 60’ x 150’ red brick manufacturing block and adjoining one-story, 100’ x 50’ red brick warehouse were built roughly 80’ northwest of the 1911 and 1916 blocks. The design of the 1920 buildings is the same as that used for the earlier blocks and, similarly, all of the original windows appear to have been either replaced or boarded up. Additions to the 1920 buildings were completed in around 1951 when a one-story, 60’ x 20’ wood-frame block was erected adjoining the south (front) elevation of the 1920 manufacturing building, and a pair of one-story red brick blocks were built adjoining the warehouse’s north and east elevations. The latter have flat roofs and measure roughly 100’ x 25’ and 45’ x 84’, respectively.

Exterior Material(s)

Structural System(s)

Roof Form

Roof Material

Power Source

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in fair condition. The majority of the original windows have been replaced, infilled, or boarded up, however, overall, the facility appears to be well maintained and structurally sound.

Property Information

Specific Location

Two parcels (861 Union Avenue & 1240 Central Avenue) totaling 3.745 acres located on the north side of Williston Avenue, between Union Avenue to the east and Central Avenue to the west.

Adjacent To

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

Acreage

1.87; 1.58

Use (Present)

Sources

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

01/22/2016

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 Fairfield County; Baker, William A., 1854.
  6. Atlas of the City of Bridgeport; J.B. Beers & Co., 1876.
  7. Atlas of the City and Town of Bridgeport; G.M. Hopkins & Co., 1888, 1917.
  8. Atlas of Bridgeport; Kershaw, William H., 1910.
  9. Sanborn Map Company, 1884, 1888, 1898, 1904, 1913, 1939, 1950.
  10. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1951, 1965, 1970, 1985.
  11. Bridgeport City Directory, Various editions.
  12. Hartford Courant, 1929, 1952, 1972.
  13. New York Times, 1920.
  14. A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport; Orcutt, Samuel, 1886.
  15. History of Bridgeport and Vicinity; S.J. Clarke Publishing, 1917.
Representative View(s)Click on image to view full file



Photographer

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Photography Date

01/22/2016