Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Colonial Bronze Co. 1937-Present (2015)

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products

Largest Documented Workforce

10-24 (1939)

Historic Narrative

The Colonial Bronze Company was established by Swiss immigrants Maximillian F. and Joseph A. Ruefli in 1927. The brothers operated their first shop in the Bronx borough of New York, where they produced a limited line of brass furniture hardware including knobs and pulls. The Rueflis relocated to Torrington around 1930 and reestablished their factory in a building formerly occupied by the John Henry Company on Fairmount Avenue in the southern end of town. This was destroyed by fire in 1937, whereupon the Colonial Bronze Company moved to a small plant on Winsted Road. The Colonial Bronze Company experienced considerable success through the 1940s and in 1948 erected an addition to their Winsted Road plant that nearly doubled its original floorspace. By the early 1960s the company was listed among the largest taxpayers in Torrington, ranking eleventh of the top fifteen concerns and valued at a total of $112,020 of real estate and personal property. The company continued to expand through the 1990s, enlarging its plant several times during this period. The Colonial Bronze Company continues to operate on Winsted Street, occupying over 30,000 square feet of total office and manufacturing space. The firm continues to diversify its product lines and today manufactures knobs, pulls, garment rods, switch plates, back plates, and cabinet hinges.

Number of Existing Buildings

Four (4) blocks.

Dates of Construction

ca. 1930, 1948, ca. 1970-ca.1990, 1996

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

The Colonial Bronze Company plant is comprised of a one- to one-and-a-half-story, 113’ x 275’ red brick and concrete block building erected in four phases. The original structure was constructed ca. 1930 and consists of the one-story brick pier block with low-pitch side-gabled roof at the southeast corner of the plant. This retains a number of its original steel sash with hopper style openings, while others have been replaced with modern materials. The ca. 1930 structure was enlarged through the construction of the one-and-a-half-story brick pier and concrete block addition on its western side in 1948, and two one-story red brick blocks to the north between ca. 1970 and ca. 1990. The final addition to the plant came in 1996, when a one-story, 112’ x 120’ red brick block was erected on the western side of the previously existing buildings.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete Block

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Good

Condition Notes

The complex is in overall good condition and continues to be maintained and operated by the Colonial Bronze Company.

Specific Location

One 1.36-acre parcel (511 Winsted Road) on north side of Winsted Road, south of exit 45 of Rte 8.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 236/001/020 / Link →

Acreage

1.36

Use (Present)

• Industrial

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

12/22/2014

Bibliography

1. List of Connecticut Manufacturers, 1922, 1924, 1930, 1932.
2. Directory of Connecticut State Manufacturers, 1936, 1939.
3. Atlas of Litchfield County, F.W. Beers & Co., 1874.
4. Industrial Directory of Connecticut, 1947.
5. Register of War Production Facilities in Connecticut, 1951.
6. Sanborn Map Company, 1884, 1891, 1901, 1909, 1915, 1924, 1931, 1949.
7. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1965.
8. The Hartford Courant, 1937, 1961, 1971.
9. The History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, 1918.
10. Torrington Register Souvenir Edition, 1897.
11. Colonial Bronze Co. website.