Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Fitzgerald Co. 1913-c.1970
• T.C. Richards Hardware Co. 1880-1913

Use (Historic)

• Consumer Products, Small Appliances
• Fabricated Metal Products
• Metal Treating and Finishing
• Transportation

Largest Documented Workforce

200 (1910)

Historic Narrative

This factory site on the spillway from Highland Lake to the Mad River has been occupied since at least 1852 when the ‘Eagle’ table cutlery works was organized and erected a brick factory. The works were sold to Rice Lathrop and Clary, also cutlery manufacturers, in 1856, which in turn sold to T. C. Richards in 1874. Thomas C. Richards first began to produce hardware in New York City in 1863 with a partner named Markt. By 1868, that partnership had dissolved, and Richards moved the factory to Newark, N.J., retaining a hardware store on Murray Street in the city. In 1874, Richards moved operations to Winsted, and the T.C. Richards Hardware Co. was incorporated. The company produced upholstery, fancy and general hardware and brass goods, and Richards held several patents including a method for securing knives and forks to handles, a picture nail, a stair-rod fastener, a sash-rod, and a cornice hook. In December of 1880, the factory was destroyed by fire and the construction of the oldest surviving four story brick building began. At about the same time, the company purchased the nearby Hurlbut Iron Works along with their water rights and the factory was quickly expanded. In the 1890s, the company employed approximately 100 to 150 men. Another fire, in January 1910, partially destroyed the factory. While insurance paid for the damage, and help was offered by the local businessman’s association, production lagged and finances strained. Shortly thereafter, the founder and president T.C. Richards died, leaving the company to flounder. In 1913, the factory was sold to the Fitzgerald Manufacturing Company of Torrington, Connecticut. The Fitzgerald Manufacturing Co. was established in 1906 by a Torrington machinist named Patrick J. Fitzgerald to produce metal gaskets for early automobiles, a product that needed to be replaced often and was in growing demand. While automotive gaskets remained in their production line for much of the company’s existence, it also produced electrical household appliances, such as electric ranges, toasters, percolators and clothes irons, under the name Son-Chief Electrics Inc. In 1931, Fitzgerald Mfg. Co. employed 200 men at the site, and an additional 800 at the main factory in Torrington. With the widespread use of synthetic materials to produce gaskets and general decline of the metals industry, the Fitzgerald Mfg. Co. was sold in the 1970s.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly twelve (12) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

c.1880-1945

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Loft
• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The complex consists of a dozen blocks built between c.1880 and 1945. The oldest buildings are at the center of the complex and include the main four-story brick block with gothic stair tower, approx. 200’ by 50’, and attached engine room. Behind and west of the main building is a five sided block formed from two adjacent machine shops built in c.1887. Both of these blocks are angled along the former Philadelphia and Reading rail bed. The Fitzgerald Company added a 100’ by 160’ one-story brick and concrete rolling mill shed to the northeast corner of the main building c.1912. Four other large buildings and several smaller ones have been added to the north and south of the main block since the 1930s. While the original factory was powered by water, steam was used for production processes such as heating solutions. It was reported in 1892 that the factory contained enough steam motors to run the operations in the event that water power could not be utilized.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Post and Beam
• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam
• Water (Turbine)

Condition

Good, Fair, Deteriorated

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

One 8.1 acre parcel on the west side of Meadow Street, and accessible from Lake Street to the south

Adjacent To

• Water (for Power)
• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 106/ 095/ 013-14 / Link →

Acreage

8.1

Use (Present)

• Industrial
• Other: 12/2024 $200k brownfield award to Northwest Hills COG for assessment for potential small mfg reuse
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Mike Forino

Date

n/a

Bibliography

1. 1947 Industrial Directory of Connecticut.
2. Annals and Family Records of Winchester Conn, by John Boyd (Hartford: Case Lockwood and Brainard, 1873).
3. 'The Financial and Industrial History of Winsted', by Edward Bailey Eaton (Connecticut Magazine, Volume 8, 1904).
4. History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume 1, by Willliam Jamieson Pape (Chicago: J. S. Clarke Publishing Co., 1918).