Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Eddy and Elliott c.1850-c.1860
• Elliottville Manufacturing Co. c.1860-1880s

Use (Historic)

• Textiles

Largest Documented Workforce

n/a

Historic Narrative

The partnership of Eddy and Elliott built this mill in the early 1850s, soon after buying a cotton mill (not extant) just upstream on the Whetstone Brook from this site. Lower Mill was used for spinning and preparing the warps for cotton sheetings, the firm's principal product. In 1870 the two mills employed 18 women, 18 children and 13 men. Spindles, located in both mills, numbered 3,368; the 86 looms were probably all in Upper Mill. Cotton manufacture here lasted into the 20th century under subsequent owners. A tannery occupied Lower Mill in the 1920s and 1930s. Known locally as Peep Toad Mill, it presently houses a residence, studio and gallery. (Roth) Eddy and Elliott of East Killingly are listing in an 1850 journal of manufactures as producing 364,000 yards of print goods per year on 1344 spindles. See NR nomination form.

Number of Existing Buildings

One (1) block.

Dates of Construction

c.1850

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

n/a

Architectural Description

The 2 1/2-story, 75' x 40' mill has a gable roof with trapdoor monitor. Ground-floor walls are a rubble of flat stones with stucco finish. Second-floor and attic walls are of frame construction with clapboards and corner pilasters. The east end has loading doors at each level. The dam is made of cut stone and the headrace is of rubble. Peep Toad Rd. crosses the headrace on a bridge carried by two rubble-stone arches. The original prime mover was a waterwheel located beneath the mill. The wheelpit has been filled in with concrete, but outlines of two tailrace arches are visible in the mill's south wall. (Roth)

Exterior Material(s)

• Wood

Structural System(s)

n/a

Roof Form

• Gable
• Monitor

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

• Water (Wheel)

Condition

n/a

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

One 2.6 acre parcel on west side of Peep Toad Road and mill pond, north bank of Whetstone Brook, and south of Hartford Tpk.
Individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1982.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 127/14 / Link →

Acreage

2.6

Use (Present)

• Residential

Form Completed By

n/a

Date

n/a

Bibliography

1. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).
2. Hunt, Freeman. The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review, vol.22 (New York: 1850).
3. Clouette, Bruce. 1982. Elliottville Lower Mill National Register Nomination No. 82004406. National Park Service.