Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• C.O. Jelliff Mfg. Corp. 1906-Present (2016)

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products

Largest Documented Workforce

Unknown.

Historic Narrative

The C.O. Jelliff Manufacturing Corporation was organized in the Southport section of Fairfield, Connecticut in 1880. The firm was established by C.O. Jelliff, a hardware store proprietor who initiated the small-scale manufacturing of ox muzzles and hair cloth sieves in the back of his store. Both products were hand made by young boys with the sieves having been woven on a repurposed carpet loom. Jelliff eventually expanded into the manufacture of woven wire goods, with his primary products including wire sieves and wood-frame smoothing harrows used in onion cultivation. In 1906, Jelliff accumulated some local capital and erected a new dedicated mill on the site of the present facility along Pequot Avenue. Jelliff died in 1914 and his family maintained the business for two more years before it was sold to new management consisting of Wilmot F. Wheeler, president; Frederic C. Bassick, vice-president; and Henry H. Rennell, secretary, treasurer, and general manager of the plant. By the early 1930s, the catalog of the C.O. Jelliff Manufacturing Corporation had been further diversified to include specialized wire cloth used by radio, automotive, and filter manufacturers. The firm remains in business in Southport in addition to operating facilities in Hickory and Maiden, North Carolina. The company has since been reorganized as Jelliff Specialty Wire and Mesh, and its present catalog consists of a wide array of wire, wire mesh, synthetic mesh, and other filtration media.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly twenty (20) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1906, ca. 1910, ca. 1930, ca. 1935, 1937, ca. 1940, ca. 1955.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Powerhouse
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former C.O. Jelliff Manufacturing Corporation facility consists of roughly twenty adjoining and freestanding primary blocks located on the north side of Pequot Avenue, at the northwest corner of Pequot Avenue’s intersection with Station Street. The main and original factory block is located along Pequot Avenue at the northeast corner of the complex. It was erected in 1906 and is a three-story, 92’ x 30’ red brick block with rectangular window openings, double-hung replacement windows, heavy stone sills and lintels, a molded wood cornice with cornice returns, and a low-pitch side-gabled roof. There are three pass-through entrance doors on the façade (east elevation), each with a paneled door set between flanking pilasters. All three entries are set below stone lintels, while the two southern doors are topped by multipane transoms. A segmental-arched opening in the third bay from the southern end of the building once led to the rear of the block, however, this has since been infilled with brick. Several other blocks erected as part of the original plant survive and have been surrounded by the sprawling complex over time. The most recognizable is a three-story red brick block located immediately behind (west of) the main manufacturing block. It measures roughly 42’ x 42’ and has a front-facing gable roof. Three blocks front on Pequot Avenue south of the original manufacturing building. The block adjoining the south elevation of the 1906 building was erected in 1937. It is a two-story, 38’ x 24’ red brick block with rectangular window openings, paired double-hung replacement windows, and a flat roof. The next block to the south is a two-and-a-half-story, 22’ x 44’ wood-frame structure originally erected as a one-story building in 1906 and then raised to its present height ca. 1910. The building has clapboard siding, double-hung windows with wood trim, and a front-facing gable roof. A loading bay with paired side-hinged doors is centered on its façade. The final block fronting on Pequot Avenue is located at the corner of Pequot Avenue and Station Street. It was erected ca. 1955 and is a two-story, 52’ x 35’ red brick block with rectangular window openings, both original and replacement double-hung sash, brick sills and heavy stone lintels, and a flat roof. The building extends west along Station Street, where additional manufacturing blocks are visible from the street. A one-and-a-half-story, 50’ x 40’ red brick block erected ca. 1940 adjoins the ca. 1955 block’s west elevation, while further additions built ca. 1955 are located west of the ca. 1940 block. The ca. 1940 building is of brick pier construction and has rectangular window openings with brick sills, multipane double-hung metal sash, and a front-facing gable roof. The additional ca. 1955 blocks are similar in detail to the block at the plant’s southeast corner, however the window openings show a varied mix of brick and concrete sills and lintels. A one-story block at the southwest corner of the plant has been stuccoed.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete
• Concrete Block
• Wood

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The plant is in fair condition. Many of the original windows have been replaced, however, the various blocks appear well maintained and structurally sound.

Specific Location

One 1.82-acre parcel (354 Pequot Ave.) located on the north side of Pequot Avenue, at the northwest corner of Pequot Avenue’s intersection with Station Street.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 241/184 / Link →

Acreage

1.82

Use (Present)

• Industrial

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

04/19/2016

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. Sanborn Map Company, 1908, 1913, 1923, 1939.
6. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1951, 1965, 1970, 1985.
7. Fairfield City Directories, Various editions.
8. Hartford Courant, 1930.
9. Jelliff Specialty Wire & Mesh website.