Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Hallden Machine Co. 1925-1987
• Hayden Machine Co. 1987-Present (2016)
• Waterbury Jewel Co. 1920-ca. 1925

Use (Historic)

• Clocks, Precision Equipment
• Machine Tools, Machinery

Largest Documented Workforce

95 (1974).

Historic Narrative

The Waterbury Jewel Company was organized as a partnership between E.M. Grilley and F.G. Neuberth in Waterbury, Connecticut, on February 8, 1911. The company specialized in the manufacture of watch and other small instrument jewels and talking machine playing needles and began operations on Burrell Court in Waterbury. The company was incorporated with $25,000 in capital on February 18, 1915. Neuberth served as the company’s president, while Grilley held the role of vice president. Neuberth’s son Raymond became the firm’s secretary after another officer, H.M. Werner left the company shortly after its incorporation. By 1917, the Waterbury Jewel Company employed 60 hands and occupied the two upper floors of the Standard Tool and Machine Company plant at 31 Canal Street in Waterbury. In 1920, however, the firm began construction of a new dedicated plant on River Street in Thomaston, Connecticut, which it occupied until about 1925 when the business was closed. The River Street plant was subsequently acquired by the Hallden Machine Company, a mechanical engineering and manufacturing firm established by Swedish immigrant Karl W. Hallden in 1916. The Hallden Machine Company originally occupied a shop on Benedict Street in Waterbury, yet moved to Thomaston in 1925. The firm is most notable for its development and manufacture of flying shears, large cutting machines used by various metalworking industries. During the 1950s, the Hallden Machine Company was the world’s leading supplier of such machinery, and in 1959 the firm unveiled a new shear measuring 42’ x 26’ and standing 17’ tall. The largest such machine in the world at the time, the device weighed 500,000 pounds and was capable of cutting aluminum into 8’ x 48’ plates. Karl W. Hallden died in 1970, however, the business he founded continued to operate into the 1980s. By 1986, however, the decline of the American steel industry had significantly reduced orders for the type of machinery produced by the company and employment had fallen to around 50, this down from just under 100 during the 1970s. The plant was slated to close in the spring of 1987, however, in April of that year the business was acquired by Edward A. Hayden, proprietor of the Hayden Machine Company, which specialized in the reconditioning and sale of used metalworking machinery. Both firms continue to operate in Thomaston.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly six (6) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1920, ca. 1940, 1956, ca. 1956.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Waterbury Jewel Company plant consists of roughly six adjoining and freestanding primary blocks located on the south side of River Street, at the southeast corner of River Street’s intersection with Maple Street and along the north bank of the Naugatuck River. The original building is located at the southern end of the plant and was built in 1920. It consists of a three-story, 40’ x 98’ block of brick pier construction and with a flat roof. The original windows are multipane steel sash with pivot-style openings. A three-story stairtower adjoins the block’s southwest corner. A one-story, 108’ x 168’ red brick addition was erected adjoining the original block’s south (rear) elevation ca. 1940, while two additional red brick blocks were built adjoining the building’s east elevation in 1956. The latter measure roughly 52’ x 84’ and 84’ x 584’ and have tall ribbon windows with concrete sills and multipane steel sash. The upper three-quarters of the windows along the north and east elevations of the larger 1956 block have been covered with aluminum sheathing.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Flat

Roof Material

• EPDM
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The plant is in fair condition. Many of the original windows in the 1920 block have been replaced, while upper three-quarters of those along the north and east elevations of the 1956 block have been covered with aluminum sheathing.

Specific Location

One 7.47-acre parcel (200 River St.) located on the south side of River Street, at the southeast corner of River Street’s intersection with Maple Street and along the north bank of the Naugatuck River.

Adjacent To

• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 48-03-24 / Link →
• 48-03-24 / Link →

Acreage

7.47

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Industrial

Form Completed By

Lucas Karmazinas

Date

11/17/2016

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. Sanborn Map Company, 1884, 1900, 1924, 1962.
6. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1951, 1965, 1970, 1985.
7. History of Waterbury; Pape, William Jamieson, 1918.
8. Hartford Courant, 1915, 1959, 1970.