Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Cheney Bros. Silk Mill
• Cheney Bros. Silk Mill

Use (Historic)

• Textiles

Largest Documented Workforce

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Historic Narrative

Cheney Brothers Manufacturing Co. grew from a small silk mill in 1838 to the nation's largest silk producer by the 1880s. Besides the huge increase in national markets in that period, the firm's success was based on innovations in production technique, such as waste-silk spinning and Grant's reel, and on its ability to capitalize on shifts in international trade policies in order to buy raw silk cheaply and to attract skilled foreign workers. Cheney Brothers labor policies attracted national attention, first because of the particular benevolence of the firm's paternalism. Then in the 20th century Cheney Brothers retained H. L. Gantt, an acolyte of F. W. Taylor, to introduce scientific management in the mills, and W. D. Scott, the pioneer industrial psychologist, to formulate aptitude and performance ratings. The extant mills were built between 1886 and 1916. Along the South Manchester Railroad north of the mills are two structures that were built to protect valuable raw silk shipments: the c.1910 Silk Storage Vault and 1919 Rail Car Vault. A rail car full of raw silk that arrived when the Storage Vault was full would have been rolled into the Rail Car Vault for temporary storage. These structures demonstrate the massive raw material inventories required by Cheney Brothers, a requirement that crippled the firm in the 1920s when the price of raw silk dropped from $20 per pound to $1 per pound, devaluing the huge silk stockpile with each reduction. Cheney Brothers built extensive tracts of tenant houses between 1865 and 1910 for a series of immigrant groups: English, French, German, Swiss, Scandinavians, northern Italians. The first mass influx occurred in the mid-1860s, after duty-free admission of French silks into England created unemployment among English silk-throwers and weavers. Cheney Brothers hired many of these skilled workers and built dwellings for them east of the mills, along present-day Eldridge St. Twelve of these continue to stand; they are simple 2-story frame houses with gable roofs. Substantial clusters of 1880s and 1890s houses survive west of tho mills along High St. and to the north between Park and Laurel Sts. Also extant are some 150 workers' houses built 1890-1910, west of the mills between Division, Cooper lIill and Campfield Sts. Among these are several 4-entry dwellings, the largest of the Cheney workers' houses. The workers used Cheney Hall, a handsome 1867 2 1/2-story brick building with mansard roof, for lectures, political meetings and concerts; the company used the hall for trade shows. The 1920s saw the firm's sales decline sharply due to industrywide over-production and new competition from rayon; Cheney Brothers faced bankruptcy in 1937. In borrowing from the Reconstruction Finance Corp. the firm was ordered to sell its non-industrial holdings, including schools, utilities, recreation facilities and houses. Through World War II the company survived by making parachutes. Ultimately unable to stave off competition from synthetics, Cheney Brothers sold out to J. P. Stevens Co. in 1954. Stevens destroyed all the machinery that made goods which competed with those of other Stevens-owned mills, leaving only some 50 c.1910 velvet looms, made by Cheney Brothers machine shop, and associated equipment such as warping machines and some dyeing apparatus. Stevens soon closed the mills. Several mills are now occupied by tenant firms, including a velvet producer which uses the historic Cheney equipment; several others stand empty. Though the village is now latticed by black-top roads, and while garages and other modern additions abound, the workers' community has outlasted the company, as the solidly built houses are mostly occupied. (Roth) See district brochure: http://www.manchesterhistory.org/Flyers/CheneyDistTour.09.pdf

Number of Existing Buildings

n/a

Dates of Construction

1886-1916

Architect

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Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

The extant mills were built between 1886 and 1916. All have brick walls and most have green-painted trim. Floors are generally two-ply, supported on timber beams and cast iron posts. The 1886 Spinning Mills are three parallel, 3-story buildings, each about 300' x 60' with nearflat roofs; an ornate stair and clock tower rises at the west end of the center mill. The 30'-wide spaces between the mills were later enclosed for more production space. The 1901 Velvet Mills are also three parallel 3-story buildings with near-flat roofs, each about 300' x 60'; they are linked by 3 l/2-story stair towers. The Weaving Mills are similar to the Velvet Mills in construction and age; the major difference is the elaborate corbeling in the Weaving Mill cornices. The 3-story Dressing Mill, about 400' x 50' with near-flat roof, has a large stair tower at its north end and two smaller wouth towers. The Velvet Weave Shed, about 250' x 90', has one high story and a sawtooth roof. The Dye House and Ribbon Mills also continue to stand. Along the South Manchester Railroad north of the mills are two structures that were built to protect valuable raw silk shipments. The c.1910 Silk Storage Vault is a 3-story, windowless brick block divided into seven irregular bays, each with a heavy steel door as its only access. The 1919 Rail Car Vault, also brick and without windows, is a 1-story rectangle with steel double door in its south end. (Roth)

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Post and Beam
• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Flat

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

n/a

Condition

Good

Condition Notes

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Specific Location

Between Elm St. and Pine St., south of Forest St.
Located in Cheney Brothers Historic District
http://npgallery.nps.gov/nrhp/GetAsset?assetID=e6b7bfc9-1259-48a9-8ee4-2fa6f42f75bd
http://www.manchesterhistory.org/Flyers/CheneyDistTour.09.pdf

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

n/a

Acreage

n/a

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Mixed-Use
• Residential

Form Completed By

n/a

Date

2015

Bibliography

1. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).
2. Adams, George R. 1978. Cheney Brothers Historic District National Register Nomination No. 78002885. National Park Service.
3. Cheney Brothers Historic District is also a National Historic Landmark.
4. Manchester History Center web site.