Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Charles I. Allen Co. 1908-

Use (Historic)

• Paper & Wood Products

Largest Documented Workforce

25 (1955)

Historic Narrative

In 1908, at the age of fifty, Charles Ira Allen (1860-1942), the son of an Eagle Lock Company president, acquired an early-nineteenth century water-powered mill along the Pequabuck River and established the Charles I. Allen Co. (also known as C. I. Allen Co.), a small operation making wood-turned goods. His prior occupation is not known, but may well have been in one of the Terryville metal goods industries. The building that Allen purchased in 1908 no longer exists. By 1913, Allen had replaced it with what is now the western half of the facility, and added the ell-shaped eastern half by 1924, doubling its size. In 1955, the Hartford Courant reported that the company employed twenty-five individuals. In addition, it appears that Allen may have hired seasonal help, such as the young Japanese exchange student, Masaiaro Asakura, reported about in a 1909 Hartford Courant article. The company product line appears to have remained relatively consistent throughout the first half of the twentieth century, producing simple wood furniture, wooden faucets (mostly for use as taps for wine barrels and oil dispensary), doorknobs, and wooden tool handles. Allen was an important community figure, serving over the years as Justice of the Peace, Town Warden, and on the Board of Education. He also sat on the board of directors of the Andrew Terry Company. He remained president and manager of his company until 1940, two years before his death, whereupon Gerard L. Studley, a 1924 graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and author of the 1982 book, 'Connecticut: The Industrial Incubator,' became president of the company. In 1955, the Plymouth Sewer Authority identified the C. I. Allen Company property as a site for a new gravity sewer treatment facility. A year of negotiations between the parties did not resolve the siting issue, and the case eventually came before the Connecticut Superior Court. The major concern for C.I. Allen Co. was elimination of a number of storage buildings and out-buildings to make way for the sewer plant, thus inhibiting future growth. C. I. Allen Company eventually withdrew its appeal, and the sewer facility was constructed just west of the factory.

Number of Existing Buildings

Two (2) blocks.

Dates of Construction

1912-1913, 1914-1924

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

Late eighteenth and early-nineteenth century maps depict a water-powered mill at the site. The one-story wood frame brick building was constructed in two phases: the western block between 1912 and 1913 and the eastern block by 1924. The 1912-13 block includes the 34' by 34' northern ell. The factory is 180 feet at is longest and 90 feet at its widest. The building is on the embankment down to the Pequabuck River, and the basement level is open to the south. In 1913, the Company built a small hydro electric power dam in the river just south of the factory, since removed, likely by the Sewer Authority in the 1960s.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Post and Beam
• Wood Frame

Roof Form

• Flat

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity
• Hydro-Electric
• Steam

Condition

Excellent

Condition Notes

This building is extremely well maintained by the current occupant

Specific Location

One 2.78 acre parcel south of Canal Street, north of the Pequabuck River to the west of South Riverside Avenue.

Adjacent To

• Water (for Power)

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 00359500 / Link →

Acreage

2.78

Use (Present)

• Industrial

Form Completed By

Michael Forino

Date

08/20/2015

Bibliography

1. The Hartford Courant, 1909-1984.
2. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1912, 1924, 1942.