Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Connecticut Light and Power Co. 1903-2000

Use (Historic)

• Other: Power generation

Largest Documented Workforce

n/a

Historic Narrative

Bulls Bridge hydroelectric generating station, built in 1903, was the first Housatonic River plant erected by Connecticut Light and Power Co., the firm that later built Falls Village and Rocky River generating plants.

Number of Existing Buildings

One (1) block.

Dates of Construction

1903

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Powerhouse

Architectural Description

Bulls Bridge dam, a curved gravity, masonry structure about 25' high, 22' wide at the base and 195' long, stands about two miles upstream from the power house. The company built a second dam (Spooner dam) in the bypass channel, cut by the river, which carries spring flood water around a rocky knoll; Spooner dam is 19' high, 14' wide at the base and 125' long. The canal runs through rock, earth and along hillsides. In rock it is a simple cut; in earth the sloping walls are faced with riprap; rolled-earth embankments with riprap facing support the canal on hills. The canal feeds into a steel penstock which carries the water the last 420' to the power house. Two steel surge tanks (8' diameter, 96' high; 5'diameter, 98' high) tower over the steel-framed, concrete power house (112' x 45' with a 45' x 45' ell), where six turbine-generator units operate under 105' head. The turbines, all S. Morgan Smith Co. model F-1's with double .35 in. horizontal runners, are original to the installation, Five of the General Electric generators are original and one is a replacement. (Roth)

Exterior Material(s)

• Concrete

Structural System(s)

• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Gable

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

• Hydro-Electric

Condition

n/a

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

One 8.55 acre parcel on the west side of Kent Road (Route 7) on east bank of Housatonic River, approximately two miles downstream of Bulls Bridge dam in Kent

Adjacent To

• Water (for Power)

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 83/ / 3/1 / Link →

Acreage

8.55

Use (Present)

• Industrial

Form Completed By

n/a

Date

n/a

Bibliography

1. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).