Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

1n/a

Companies Associated w/Complex

• D. and H. Scovil Co. 1867-c.1960s

Use (Historic)

• Clocks, Precision Equipment
• Fabricated Metal Products
• Other: agricultural implements; camera equipment

Largest Documented Workforce

n/a

Historic Narrative

NOTE: TOGETHER WITH THE OTHER SCOVIL SITES THIS WAS FOUND TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR NR LISTING AS INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT IN 2022 BY SHPO. The D. and H. Scovil Company was founded by brothers Daniel and Hezekiah Scovil in 1844. Inspiration for the company followed Daniel Scovil’s extensive travel throughout the southern United States during the early 1840s, at which time he developed a design for a self-sharpening hoe to be marketed to southern plantation owners. Scovil’s “Planters’ Hoe” was fabricated by forge-welding a soft iron overlay onto a steel core. As the tool was used the soft exterior would wear away more quickly, thus exposing the edge’s sharp steel interior. Upon returning to Higganum, Daniel partnered with his brother to produce Planters’ Hoes in their father’s blacksmith shop situated along Candlewood Brook. The success of the Scovil hoe allowed the brothers to build their own blacksmith shop in the vicinity of their father’s in 1849, and then to erect a larger mill and supporting waterpower system in 1859. The former no longer survives, however, portions of the 1859 factory, known as Mill No. 2, still stand west of Brainard Hill Road along Black Shop Pond. The D. and H. Scovil Company continued to thrive and expand throughout the second half of the 19th century. Mill No. 3, consisting of two new factory buildings, a Second Empire style brick office building, and a rubble-stone dam, was constructed along what is now Scovil Road in 1867, and in 1880, the first of three primary buildings that would eventually comprise Mill No. 4 was erected along Candlewood Brook roughly one-half mile east of Mill No. 3. This was expanded in 1887 by the addition of the older of the two extant structures on the Mill No. 4 site, which originally housed a forge, woodworking, and grinding shops, a machine room, and an engine room. The second of the two extant mills was built ca. 1905 to house an additional forge shop. By 1914, Sanborn maps identify the building as a drop forge shop, perhaps indicative of machinery upgrades at the plant resultant of the company’s shift from welded two-piece models, to stamped single-piece designs after the turn of the century. Although the D. and H. Scovil Company’s productivity allegedly declined following the death of Hezekiah Scovil in 1904, the company maintained a presence in town into the second half of the 20th century. During the 1930s and 1940s, the company consolidated its production at Mill No. 3 after Mills No. 2 and 4 were sold off. Mill No. 4 was purchased by the State of Connecticut in 1942. Company office and Mill 3 for D. and H. Scovil Co.; currently occupied by Kenyon Laboratories, makers of camera stabilizers Note: 2022 SHPO determined site to be eligible as part of an overall D & H Scovil Co industrial district; listed 2024.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly seven (7) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

c.1867,1870

Architect

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Builder

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Building Type

• Administration

Architectural Description

The brick office building built in 1867 in the Second Empire style with cross gable mansard roof and dormers stands on the east side of Scovil Road and the factory complex. The Mill No. 3 complex is comprised of approximately six adjoining and free-standing one-story brick blocks with segmentally arched windows and a monitor on the northernmost block built in 1867 and 1870.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

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Roof Form

• Gable
• Mansard
• Monitor

Roof Material

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Power Source

n/a

Condition

Excellent

Condition Notes

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Specific Location

Company store is on east side and Mill 3 is on west side of Scovil Road, south of Candlewood Rd, west of Rte 9; 1.92 acres total (not including 3rd parcel of vacant land)

Individually listed on the State Register of Historic Places.

Adjacent To

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Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 15/ 097/ 2/ / / Link →
• 15/ 097/ / / / Link →

Acreage

1.92

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Industrial
• Other: 2022 SHPO determined site to be eligible as part of an overall D & H Scovil Co industrial district; listed 2024

Form Completed By

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Date

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Bibliography

1. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).
2. State Register nomination on file at the SHPO office, Hartford, CT.