Historic Mills of Connecticut

Use (Historic)

• Apparel & Accessories
• Rubber & Chemicals
• Textiles

Largest Documented Workforce

1400 (1922)

Historic Narrative

For historical significance see National Register application: http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/84000410.pdf Home Woolen Co. began manufacture of fancy cassimeres here in the mid 1860s, in a 3 1/2-story brick mill. In 1870 the water-powered mill employed 155 men, 67 women and 44 children; there were 17 sets of cards, some 3,700 spindles and 70 broadlooms. Uniroyal now owns the complex. (Roth) The Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Company employed 1400 in 1922. From Hartford Courant Nov 28 1863: 'The new Home Woolen Company, in which the South Wilbraham Manufacturing Co. are large owners, will begin next week to run part of the machinery in their mill at Beacon Falls. When in full operation they will run ten sets of machinery.'

Number of Existing Buildings

Six (6) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1853, 1866, 1898, 1900, 1904, 1910-1916

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

n/a

Architectural Description

For description see National Register application: http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/84000410.pdf The earliest structure is a 3 1/2-story brick mill 1853, about 225' x 45' with gable roof and segmentally arched windows with stone sills. The adjacent 2-story brick mill, about 90' x 60', served in part as the picker house. Traces of the masonry dam across the Naugatuck River and an open, masonry-walled headrace remain. An 1890s addition has a near-flat roof and windows resembling those of the earlier structures. The brick counting house, 2-story with gable roof, stands just west of the addition. Later structures include a 4-story brick-pier mill and a 2-story brick mill with sawtoothed roof. North of the mills stand six mill houses: two duplexes and four single-family dwellings. (Roth)

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

n/a

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable
• Sawtooth

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

n/a

Condition

n/a

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

east side of North Main Street on either side of Burton Road

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• B00-002-0011 multiple (for record, use link and type in address or parcel number) / Link →
• A00-003-0001 multiple (for record, use link and type in address or parcel number) / Link →

Acreage

n/a

Use (Present)

• Residential

Form Completed By

n/a

Date

n/a

Bibliography

1. Gilchrist, Alison. 1984. Home Woollen Co. - Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Factory National Register Nomination No. 84000410. National Park Service.
2. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).
3. The New England Business Directory and Gazeteer for 1922, Nbr. 30 (Boston: Sampson and Murdock Co., 1922).