Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Dunbar Brothers Co. 1907-1923
• Wallace Barnes Co., Dunbar Plant 1923-1950

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products

Largest Documented Workforce

50-99 (1939)

Historic Narrative

The origins of the Dunbar Brothers Company date back to 1841, when Edward L. Dunbar purchased a casting shop at the corner of Union and South Street from the firm of Judson and Hills and began manufacturing clock weights, mechanisms, and trim. Previous to 1845, all clock springs in the United States were imported from France and Bristol’s significant clock industry was dependant on these foreign components. In 1847, however, the clockmakers were given a local option when Dunbar purchased the rights to a process of tempering coiled springs from S. Burnham Terry and began manufacturing his own steel clock springs. Around the same time, John Pomeroy, another Bristol resident, likewise developed a process of tempering springs that, combined with Dunbar’s output, resulted in dramatically lower prices for both clock parts and the completed devices. In 1857, another Bristol industrialist, Wallace Barnes, began producing clock springs in a plant near the intersection of South and Main Streets about a block away from Dunbar’s. The following year, the increasing popularity of the hoop skirt as a component of women’s fashion led a representative from a New York firm to visit Dunbar in search of a source of these metal devices. Dunbar began producing the steel springs in a shop at the rear of his plant; however, the high demand for the product soon led him to partner with Barnes in order to expand capacity. The two industrialists formed the firm of Dunbar and Barnes, which manufactured the steel springs for hoop skirts in a building erected at Barnes’ plant. This relationship lasted until 1866 when Barnes bought out Dunbar’s interests in the firm and conducted it alongside his own. Dunbar in turn refocused his efforts into his own business and continued to oversee the operation until his death in 1879. The firm then passed to Dunbar’s sons Winthrop W., Edward B. and William A. Dunbar, who reorganized as the Dunbar Brothers Company. The Dunbar Brothers Company’s manufacturing lines were greatly diversified over the course of the late-19th century and by the 1890s included a variety of brass and steel products ranging from sash and door springs, to agricultural, builders’, and saddlers’ hardware. Until significant improvements to the plant were made during the early-20th century it continued to be powered by a 30-foot water wheel, this provided with water via a large pipe extending several hundred feet to a pond formerly located south of the factory. The early-20th century, however, saw both new power sources and management structures introduced at the firm. William A. Dunbar retired from the firm around 1900 and Edward. B. Dunbar died in 1907, prompting the surviving brother to incorporate the business as the Dunbar Brothers Company in the latter year. Winthrop B. Dunbar, then serving as president of the company, died in 1913, thus leaving the business in the hands of his business partners and fellow officers. Local histories make specific note of a notable practice maintained at the Dunbar spring plant for some 50 years before Winthrop B. Dunbar’s death. This was the ringing of the ‘Curfew Bell,’ a large brass bell previously used at the Bristol Copper Mines, which was purchased by Edward Dunbar in 1858. The bell was rung 99 times every night at 9:00, thus becoming the town’s unofficial curfew announcement. It is unclear when this practice ceased, however, the Dunbar Brothers Company plant was eventually acquired by the Wallace Barnes Company in 1923. It then operated as an independent division of that firm until the 1950s when the factory was sold off to various entities. The Sons of Italy fraternal organization took over the northern half of the plant, while the remainder retained industrial uses. Such mixed utility continues to this day.

Number of Existing Buildings

Four (4) primary buildings.

Dates of Construction

1907, ca. 1910, ca. 1910, ca. 1918, ca. 1950.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Dunbar Brothers Company plant is comprised of five primary building and various ancillary structures located at the southeast corner of the intersection of South and Union Streets. The earliest surviving portion of the plant consists of a three-story, 30’ x 88’ red brick stamping, winding, and storage building erected facing Union Street in 1907. This is of typical brick mill construction and has segmental-arched window openings, rough-cut stone sills, corbelled brick cornice, and a brick parapet with recessed brick panels and tile coping. The block was built on the western side of a pre-existing Dunbar Brother Company plant, however, all of the blocks extant at that time have since been replaced. Around 1910 a two-story stamping and machine shop was built along Union Street adjoining the north elevation of the 1907 block. The two buildings are identical in detailing, yet the slope of Union Street reveals a rough-cut stone foundation at the northern end of the ca. 1910 block. Substantial alterations were made to the plant during the late-1910s. At this point in time the original factory buildings along South Street were replaced with the three blocks that currently make up the northern portion of the complex (this having a G-shaped footprint if viewed from above). These include a three-story, 58’ x 36’ red brick picking, office, and storage block; a three-story, 50’ x 114’ red brick stamping and machine shop; and a one-story, 48’ x 42’ red brick shipping block. The two three-story buildings intersect forming a unified façade running along South Street. The façade has a rusticated first story with rectangular window openings capped by brick keystones, while the windows on the upper stories are set in recessed two-story bays topped by segmental-arched openings with concrete sills and keystones. The entry to the plant is centered within a projecting pavilion and is set within a prominent concrete surround. A stepped brick parapet with tile coping spans the full width of the façade and wraps partly around the side (east and west) elevations. Two additional buildings were constructed south of the main factory building ca. 1918. These include a one-story, 84’ x 84’ red brick warehouse erected roughly 108’ south of South Street and 162’ east of Union Street; and a one-story red brick forge shop built some 225’ south of South Street and 100’ east of Union Street. The primary portion of the forge shop has an L-shaped footprint comprised of two blocks measuring 40’ x 118’ and 42’ x 75’, respectively. A 55’ x 70’ ell projects southward from the western side of the building. The final primary building associated with the property was likely built ca. 1940, yet by the 1950s housed a bowling alley. It is comprised of two blocks forming a one-story, 78’ x 106’ concrete block structure with red brick exterior walls. The eastern block has a two clerestory monitors running along its gabled roof, while the western block has a shed roof.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Clerestory Monitor
• Flat
• Gable
• Monitor
• Shed

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity
• Water (Turbine)
• Water (Wheel)

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The factory is in fair condition. The majority of the exterior walls appear to be reasonably well maintained, however, show some signs of staining and deterioration. The majority of the original wood or metal sash windows throughout the plant have been replaced or infilled. Several remaining on the south elevation of one of the ca. 1918 block illustrate the original arrangement of the multi-pane metal sash with hopper style openings.

Specific Location

Six legal parcels (76, 80, and 90 South St.; and 11, 15, and 27 Union St.) totaling 2.33 acres at the southeast corner of the intersection of South and Union Streets.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 31/45/7/0118940 / Link →
• 31/45/3/1/0045900 / Link →
• 31/45/0045896 / Link →
• 31/45/6/013342 / Link →
• 31/45/3/0191493 / Link →
• 31/45/4/0191485 / Link →

Acreage

2.33

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Industrial

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

03/12/2015

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 Hartford County, H & C.T. Smith, 1855.
6. Atlas of Hartford County, Beers, Baker & Tilden, 1869.
7. Sanborn Map Company, 1884, 1890, 1895, 1900, 1905, 1911, 1916, 1921, 1928, 1951.
8. Bristol City Directory, 1860-1960.
9. Hartford Courant, 1892, 1907, 1913, 1914, 1930.
10. Our Yankee Heritage: The Making of Bristol, Beals, Carlton, 1954.
11. Bristol, Connecticut: In the Olden Time “New Cambridge,” Which Includes Forestville, Smith, Eddy N., 1907.