Mill Record Bristol
RETURN TO ‘FIND MILLS’
- Historic Information
Companies Associated w/Complex
- Bristol Brass and Clock Co. 1850-1903
- Bristol Brass Co. 1903-1982
Use (Historic)
Largest Documented Workforce
375 (1880)
Historic Narrative
Bristol Brass and Clock Co. was founded in 1850 by a partnership consisting of clock manufacturers from Bristol and brass entrepreneurs from the Naugatuck Valley. For forty years the output of brass was entirely consumed in clock [mechanism] production at this plant and other clock factories in Bristol. Around 1890 the firm discontinued production of its own clocks to concentrate solely on primary brass production, making the alloy and then rolling it into sheet or rod, and took on the name Bristol Brass Co. in 1903. (Roth) The firm also made brass for automobiles as well as shell cases for the military during both World Wars.
- Architectural Information
Number of Existing Buildings
Roughly fifteen (5) primary blocks.
Dates of Construction
c.1885, 1891, 1915-1918
Architect
n/a
Builder
n/a
Building Type
n/a
Architectural Description
The surviving plant is divided by Broad St.; for the most part, 19th-century buildings are north of the street and 20th-century buildings to the south. The earliest structure is the c.1885 mill originally used for rolling rod. The 181' x 135' brick mill has a single high story and moderately pitched gable roof; the monitor has been removed from the roof. Two similar wings also housed rolling operations. Smaller brick buildings held machine shops, annealing and boiler rooms. The 1891 brick office has two sections, one with hip roof and one with gable roof. Most of the plant south of Broad St. was erected for military production in 1915-18. The 1915 rolling mill is 638' x 62' with a single high story and a near-flat roof topped by a monitor along its length. The walls are reinforced concrete for half their height and glass above. The 300' x 195' casting shop with sawtooth roof was built in 1915-16. Its walls are brick to a height of 6' and glass for the rest of the single high story. In 1917-18 another rolling mill was built, 347' x 168' with corrugated steel walls over a steel-girder skeleton. There are some 15 smaller buildings, most erected during World War I. (Roth)
Exterior Material(s)
Structural System(s)
Roof Form
Roof Material
n/a
Power Source
n/a
Condition
n/a
Condition Notes
n/a
- Property Information
-
Specific Location
three parcels on the north and south sides of Broad Street east of King Street
Adjacent To
n/a
Exterior Visible from Public Road?
Yes
Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link
Acreage
1.2
Use (Present)
- Sources
-
Form Completed By
n/a
Date
n/a
Bibliography
- Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).
- Bristol Brass Company Records are archived at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut.
- Representative View(s)Click on image to view full file
-
Photographer
n/a
Photography Date
n/a
