Mill Record Manchester

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Disclaimer: Content for these properties was compiled in 2014-2017 from a variety of sources and is subject to change. Updates are occasionally made under Property Information, however the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation (dba Preservation Connecticut) makes no representation or warranty that the information is complete or up-to-date.

Complex Name (Common)
E. E. Hilliard Co.
Complex Name (Historic)
  • E. E. Hilliard Co.
Address or Location
642 Hilliard Street, Manchester
County
Hartford
Historic Designation
Associated Mill Community
n/a
What can you do at this mill?
Historic Information

Use (Historic)

Largest Documented Workforce

n/a

Historic Narrative

For historical significance see National Register application. Note: NR nomination was not approved by owner at the time (1988); site is on SR. Woolen production began here in 1794 with Aaron Buckland's fulling mill. The Pitkin family bought the mill early in the 19th century. By 1840 Elisha Hilliard, a former Pitkin employee, owned the mill and produced woolen cloth. (Roth)

Architectural Information

Number of Existing Buildings

Six (6) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1834, 1882, 1896, 1923, 1925

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

Architectural Description

The Pitkins' 1834 frame mill, 2-story and 95' x 32', continues to stand. Extensions on the mill have enclosed the c.1870 brick picker house, 2-story and 41' x 30'. The firm that Hilliard founded built additional mills in 1896 (frame, 3-story and 119' x 59') and in 1909 (brick, 1-story and 101' x 49'). A trapezoidal, 3-story brick factory, with walls 77', 197', 82' and 231' long, completed enclosure of the millyard in 1925. These buildings have been altered with asphalt siding and various additions. The race is filled in but the masonry dam, across Bigelow Brook, still stands. (Roth)

Exterior Material(s)

Structural System(s)

Roof Form

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

Condition

Excellent, Good, Fair, Deteriorated

Condition Notes

n/a

Property Information

Specific Location

3.06 acres between Adams St and New State Rd

Adjacent To

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

Acreage

3.06

Use (Present)

  • Commercial
  • Mixed-Use
  • Other: Current owner has been building out for mixed uses since acquisition; as of 2019, 1925 block is fully occupied. As of 2022, adaptive reuse of dye house is complete, and rehab of timber frame 1896 loft and 1834/60 mill building and c.1880 office building in process.
Sources

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. State Register nomination on file at SHPO office, Hartford, CT.
Representative View(s)Click on image to view full file



Photographer

CTHP

Photography Date

2015