Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Cole-Roscoe Mfg. Co. 1913-1975
• Penmar Industries, Inc. ca. 1975-2012

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products
• Paper & Wood Products

Largest Documented Workforce

30 (1923).

Historic Narrative

The Cole-Roscoe Manufacturing Company was established in South Norwalk, Connecticut in 1913. The firm manufactured wire cloth and was organized by Ralph R. Cole, Frederick M. Roscoe, and James H. Hyslop. Cole was the driving force behind the business as he had been previously employed in the industry by manufacturers in his home town of New Canaan, Connecticut, and Southport, Connecticut. He rose through the ranks of these firms and by 1913 had gained enough experience and confidence to strike out on his own. A small plant was erected on Bates Court in South Norwalk in 1913, where by 1923 some 30 hands were employed. The wire cloth produced by the Cole-Roscoe Manufacturing Company was sold direct to other manufacturers, with a substantial portion replacing that which had formerly been imported from Germany, the primary international producer of the material in the period before the First World War. The Cole-Roscoe Manufacturing Company also developed a significant export trade, which necessitated the construction of several additions to the firm’s plant during the 1920s. Control of the company remained in the Cole family throughout its entire history, with Ralph R. Cole’s son, Ralph S. Cole, serving as president after the elder Cole stepped down and assumed the role of vice president around 1960. The Cole-Roscoe Manufacturing Company remained in operation into the mid-1970s, however, the company eventually closed its doors in 1975. The business was replaced by Penmar Industries, a manufacturer of packing tapes and labels organized in New York by James Penders and Philip Marchese around 1964. Penmar Industries occupied the former Cole-Roscoe plant until 2012 when the firm relocated to Stratford, Connecticut.

Number of Existing Buildings

Three (3) adjoining primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1913, ca. 1920, ca. 1925, ca. 1940.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

The former Cole-Roscoe Manufacturing Company plant is comprised of three primary adjoining blocks located at the southern terminus of Bates Court, roughly 50’ east of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. The plant’s main block consists of a two-story, 34’ x 134’ red brick block originally erected as a roughly 71’-long building in 1913, and then expanded to the south through additions completed ca. 1920 and ca. 1940. The sections from 1913 and ca. 1920 have segmental-arched window openings with brick sills and one-over-one double-hung wood sash, while the ca. 1940 addition has rectangular window openings with concrete sills and multi-pane metal sash. All three phases of construction are unified under a single low-pitch front-facing gable roof. A two-story, 24’ x 32’ red brick addition was constructed adjoining the northeast corner of the original block ca. 1925. This has rectangular window openings with stone stills, two-over-two double-hung wood windows, and a low-pitch front-facing gable roof. The plant’s primary entrance is located on the western end of the block’s façade (north elevation) and is sheltered by a gabled portico with square supports and balusters, a curved underside, and plain cornice returns. The entry consists of a paneled wood door with four round-arched lights spanning its upper section. A plain wood surround flanks the entry. The final block associated with the former Cole-Roscoe Manufacturing Company was also erected ca. 1925. It stands two-stories tall and adjoins what was then the southern end of the main block’s east elevation. The block is of red brick construction and measures roughly 24’ x 28’. It has rectangular window openings with concrete sills, multi-pane metal sash, and a side-gabled roof.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in fair condition. Although the majority of the windows throughout the plant have been retained and the plant appears to have been generally well maintained throughout its history, it has stood vacant for several years and deterioration may soon become an issue.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (1 Bates Court) totaling 0.62 acres located at the southern terminus of Bates Court, roughly 50’ east of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 2/53/5/0. / Link →

Acreage

0.62

Use (Present)

• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

11/06/2015

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 New Haven County; Clark, Richard, 1859.
6. Atlas of New Haven County, Beers, Ellis & Soule, 1868.
7. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1951, 1965, 1970, 1985.
8. Sanborn Map Company, 1891, 1896, 1901, 1906, 1922, 1950, 1958.
9. Norwalk Directory; Various editions.
10. Hartford Courant, 1958.
11. Encyclopedia of Connecticut Biography; Hart, Samuel, 1923.
12. Norwalk after Two-hundred & Fifty Years; Norwalk Historical and Memorial Library Assoc., 1901.
13. Norwalk; Grant, Lisa Wilson, 2014.