Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Hampford Research, Inc. 2001-Present (2015)
• Housatonic Corrugated Box Co. 1947-ca. 1980

Use (Historic)

• Paper & Wood Products

Largest Documented Workforce

Unknown.

Historic Narrative

The Housatonic Corrugated Box Company plant on West Broad Street in Stratford was built in 1947. The company manufactured shipping containers and other corrugated paper products and at its inception was represented by Timothy A. Kilty of Stratford, and J.J. Mantak of Monroe. The company remained in operation through the 1950s and early 1960s, before it was acquired by the Boise Cascade Corporation, a nationally prominent manufacturer and distributor of wood products and building materials, between 1965 and 1966. The Housatonic Corrugated Box Company continued as a division of Boise Cascade until 1971, whereupon the original name was abandoned. Boise Cascade retained the Stratford plant until the early 1980s. In 2001 the plant was acquired by Hampford Research, Inc., a chemical research company, and today it operates as a both a warehouse and a collection facility for recyclable materials.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly four (4) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1947, 1948, c.1965.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Housatonic Corrugated Box Company factory is comprised of roughly four primary adjoining blocks located south of West Broad Street, and between Interstate 95 and the New York-New Haven rail line. The plant is set back approximately 875’ south of West Broad Street and is accessed by a private access road that it shared with the former Ross and Roberts, Inc. factory located to the north. The Housatonic Corrugated Box Company plant was built in 1947 and then expanded in 1948 and ca. 1965. The original blocks consist of a one-story, 102’ x 306’ manufacturing block on the south side of the factory; and a one-story, 338’ x 80’ warehouse located on the west side of the plant. These are adjoined forming an L-shaped footprint and both buildings are of steel-frame construction with red brick curtain walls, and multi-pane metal sash with hopper-style openings. The manufacturing building is notable for a large monitor that runs east-west along the center of the block’s flat roof. The warehouse, on the other hand, has a gable roof. The Housatonic Corrugated Box Company plant was enlarged in 1948 through the addition of a one-story, 185’ x 101’ steel frame and red brick finish room and shipping building adjoining the east elevation of the warehouse and north elevation of the manufacturing block. The final addition to the complex was completed ca. 1965 when a one-story, 86’ x 42’ office building was built adjoining the east elevation of the manufacturing block. This is of Modernist styling and has a steel frame, red brick walls, full-height windows with multi-pane metal sash and both glass and metal panels, and a flat roof.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Clerestory Monitor
• Flat
• Gable
• Monitor

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in fair condition. Many of the exterior walls and windows are in need of maintenance and repairs, however, the plant appears to be well reasonably well maintained overall.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (1255 West Broad Street) totaling 4.73 acres located south of West Broad Street, and between Interstate 95 and the New York-New Haven rail line.

Adjacent To

• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 40/8/1/12. / Link →

Acreage

4.73

Use (Present)

• Commercial

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

08/04/2015

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 Fairfield County; Baker, William A., 1854.
6. Sanborn Map Company, 1924, 1949.
7. Bridgeport City Directory, Various editions.
8. History of Bridgeport and Vicinity, 1917.