Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Charles G. Lincoln and Co. 1949-late-20th c.
• William Boardman & Sons Co. 1916-1949

Use (Historic)

• Food, Beverage, Tobacco

Largest Documented Workforce

25-49 (1939).

Historic Narrative

The William Boardman and Sons Company was organized by Wethersfield, Connecticut native William Boardman in 1841. Boardman’s firm specialized in tea and coffee roasting and importing and was just the second such firm in New England. The company initially operated in Wethersfield, but moved to Hartford, Connecticut in 1850. A warehouse and offices were established on Central Row, where the firm remained for three years. The company then relocated to State Street, before erecting a new facility on Asylum Street in 1871. By the latter date, Boardman had brought his two sons, W.F.J. and T. Jefferson Boardman, into the firm, upon which time the business was reorganized as William Boardman and Sons. William Boardman died at the age of 82 in 1887, however, the family business continued to operate. A new warehouse and roasting plant was built on Edwards Street in Hartford in 1916, where the company remained for the rest of its existence. In June 1949 William Boardman and Sons merged with another of the country’s oldest coffee roasting firms, Arnold and Aborn, which had been organized in New York in 1871. The names and operations of the individual firms were preserved, however work was moved out of the William Boardman and Sons’ Edward Street plant. The facility was then purchased by Charles G. Lincoln and Company, a coffee, tea, spice, and restaurant equipment wholesaler, and coffee roaster, in November 1949. Like William Boardman and Sons, Charles G. Lincoln and Company was a long-standing Hartford institution. The business was established as the Allyn and Blanchard Company in 1839, and was reorganized as Lincoln Seyms and Company in 1891. In 1904, the firm was incorporated as the Charles G. Lincoln Company, the name it retained until the business was closed during the late-20th century.

Number of Existing Buildings

Two (2) primary adjoining primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1916, ca. 1980.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

The former William Boardman and Sons Company facility is comprised of two primary adjoining blocks located on the west side of Edwards Street, roughly 150’ south of Edwards Street’s intersection with Walnut Street. The plant’s main and original block was built in 1916 and is a three-story, 34’ x 122’ red brick building with a buff brick façade. It is of brick pier construction and is three bays wide and 14 bays deep. It has a raised concrete foundation, large rectangular window openings with concrete sills and brick lintels, multi-pane metal sash with hopper-style openings, a crenellated brick parapet, and a flat roof. The façade bears a high degree of architectural detail and ornamentation. The spandrels between the upper story windows bear elaborate herringbone brickwork and inset cast stone accents. Arrowhead-shaped brick and cast stone accents are located flanking and between the third-floor windows and a corbelled cast stone cornice spans the full width of the façade. The façade parapet has cast stone coping and several cast stone plaques decorate the ends and center of the feature. From south to north these read, ‘1841,’ ‘BOARDMAN,’ and ‘1916.’ The main entry to the building is centered on the first floor of the façade and is set within a detailed portico comprised of cast stone pilasters, a wide entablature, and a pedimented gable roof. Painted signs extending along the parapets of the north and south (side) elevations read, ‘COFFEE ROASTERS WM. BOARDMAN and SONS CO. TEA IMPORTERS.’ A one-story, 49’ x 76’ concrete block addition was erected adjoining the western half of the main blocks north elevation ca. 1980. This connects the former William Boardman and Sons Company facility to other properties to the north. The addition has a concrete foundation, concrete block walls, and a flat roof. Two loading docks with roll-up style doors are located in the northern half of its east elevation, while a smaller roll-up style loading door and a metal and glass pass-through entry door are located in the southern half.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete Block

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Flat

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in fair condition. The exterior walls are in need of cleaning and minor repairs and some of the original window openings have been infilled, however, the plant appears reasonably well maintained overall.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (55 Edwards Street) totaling 0.34 acres located on the west side of Edwards Street, roughly 150’ south of Edwards Street’s intersection with Walnut Street.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 222/274/38 (for record, use link and type in address or parcel number) / Link →

Acreage

0.34

Use (Present)

• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas Karmazinas

Date

8/31/2015

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 Hartford County, H & C.T. Smith, 1855.
6. Atlas of Hartford County, Beers, Baker & Tilden, 1869.
7. Sanborn Map Company, 1885, 1900, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1950.
8. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1965.
9. Hartford City Directories, Various editions.
10. The Hartford Courant, 1887, 1929, 1949, 1965, 1974.