Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• George F. Taylor Co. ca. 1880-1886
• Hillhouse & Taylor Co. 1886-late-20th c.
• Prime Materials Recovery, Inc. late-20th c.-Present (2015)

Use (Historic)

• Mining, Primary Metals
• Paper & Wood Products

Largest Documented Workforce

50 (1920).

Historic Narrative

The firm of Hillhouse and Taylor was organized as a partnership between James W. Hillhouse and George F. Taylor, both residents of Willimantic, Connecticut, in 1883. Trained as a civil engineer, since 1879 Taylor had been the proprietor of a coal and lumber yard founded by his father, Edward Taylor, however, his business arrangement with Hillhouse was a separate venture that milled and sold domestic lumber. The two businesses were merged under the authority of Hillhouse and Taylor in 1886, and in 1887 the firm expanded through the purchase of a millwork shop owned by D.E. Potter. This initially operated in a space rented from the Willimantic Linen Company on Main Street, yet was moved to Hillhouse and Taylor’s yard west of Milk Street after a dedicated mill was erected in 1901. During the first decade of the 1900s, Hillhouse and Taylor established itself as a noted purveyor of high quality lumber, doors, sash, and interior wood finishes and trim. In 1905, the firm’s work on the Woodstock, Connecticut mansion of Clarence W. Bowen garnered the attention of the parties responsible for a trophy room addition to the Oyster Bay, New York residence of President Theodore Roosevelt. Hillhouse and Taylor was eventually selected as the provider of all interior finishwork for the project, a contract valued at $5,000 at the time. By the 1920s, Hillhouse and Taylor had expanded to consist of a workforce of 50 hands. During the 1940s, the company offered a variety of building products including insulation, masons’ supplies, coal, fuel and range oil, paint and varnishes, roofing and sheetrock, Delco oil burners, and house-milled woodwork. The firm continued to operate into the second half of the 20th century and as late as the 1960s was led by Kenneth N. Hillhouse, the youngest son of James W. Hillhouse, who served as president and treasurer. The mill and lumber yard are presently occupied by Prime Materials Recovery, Inc., a non-ferrous metal recovery firm that previously operated as N. Schilberg and Son and the Schilberg Integrated Metals Corporation, and which had origins dating to ca. 1918.

Number of Existing Buildings

Six (6) adjoining and freestanding primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

ca. 1880, 1901, ca. 1920, 1965-1991.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Hillhouse and Taylor plant is comprised of six adjoining and freestanding blocks located east of Milk Street, along the north side of Valley Street Extension, and west of Chapman Street. The oldest is a two-and-a-half-story wood-frame structure erected as a tenement ca. 1880. The building was converted for office use starting around 1890 and consists of a single front-gabled block measuring 33’ x 42’ overall. The office has aluminum siding and a variety of replacement windows and doors. A two-story, 85’ x 54’ red brick block was erected to house a millwork shop in 1901. This stands roughly 200’ northeast of the office and is notable for its large segmental-arched window openings, stone sills, twelve-over-twelve double-hung sash, and low-pitch side-gabled roof. A one-and-a-half-story, 50’ x 54’ red brick boiler room and glazing shop adjoin the north elevation of the millwork shop. These were erected concurrent to the woodworking building and are of similar detailing. A one-story, 148’ x 58’ metal-frame storage building with corrugated metal siding and a low-pitch side-gabled roof adjoin the south elevation millwork block. This was erected at some point between 1965 and 1991. The final building of note is a two-story, 23’ x 103’ concrete block storage building erected ca. 1920. The building’s only door or window openings are located on the north elevation. These consist of a continuous course of multi-pane windows running along the building’s shed roof, and a single roll-up door roughly centered on the north elevation.

Exterior Material(s)

• Aluminum Siding or Paneling
• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Structural Steel or Iron
• Wood Frame

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• Metal

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The plant is in fair condition. Several of the blocks have had their original windows or siding replaced, however, overall, the buildings are well maintained and appear sound.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (47 Milk Street) totaling 3.04 acres located east of Milk Street, along the north side of Valley Street Extension, and west of Chapman Street.

Adjacent To

• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 14-3/113/26A. (for record, use link and type in address or parcel number) / Link →

Acreage

3.04

Use (Present)

• Industrial

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

08/13/2015

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 Windham County; E.M. Woodford, 1855.
6. Atlas of Windham County; O.W. Gray, 1869.
7. Sanborn Map Company, 1924, 1948.
8. Hartford Courant, 1893, 1895, 1901, 1905, 1914, 1999.
9. A History of Windham County, Connecticut; Bayles, Richard M., ed., 1889.
10. A Modern History of Windham County, Connecticut; Lincoln, Allen B., 1920.
11. Willimantic City Directories, Various editions.