Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• I.S. Spencer Sons Inc. c.1867-c.1900
• Spencer Foundry c.1850-c.1867

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products

Largest Documented Workforce

n/a

Historic Narrative

I. S. Spencer bought a bankrupt foundry in the early 1850s and ran it until his death in 1867. The business was small in 1860, with just five workers and about one ton weekly output. Three-quarters of the work went to agricultural implements, indicating the limited production and markets of commercial foundries in antebellum Connecticut. A timber-framed building in the yard of the present plant is consistent with the firm's size in the 1850s. [Spencer's] sons built a brick-walled foundry in 1869. This building housed a growing operation which in 1870 employed 36 men and poured about 6 tons per week. The firm continued to grow in the 1870s, building two new 2-story factories for pattern-making and machining. By 1880 the Spencers employed 60 men producing castings used as component parts in other products, such as pedastals for lamps and legs for school desks. Still used as a foundry, the plant is the only industrial site on a residential street. (Roth)

Number of Existing Buildings

n/a

Dates of Construction

c.1850, 1869, 1870

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

A timber-framed building with vertical-board siding stands in the yard of the present plant. Its small scale, about 55' x 25', is consistent with the firm's size in the 1850s. Its high one story and gable roof with narrow monitor are found in many foundries and rolling mills built later in the 19th century, and would represent an early application of these features of foundry design if Spencer used them in the 1850s. His sons certainly applied them in 1869 when they built a brick-walled foundry, 100' x 60', [and in 1870] two new 2-story factories for pattern-making and machining. Both are brick and the street-facing addition features a corner stair tower with pyramidal roof. (Roth)

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Wood

Structural System(s)

n/a

Roof Form

• Gable
• Monitor

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

n/a

Condition

n/a

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

West side of North Fair Street, between Boston Post Road and Broad Street

Located in Guilford Historic Center Historic District (1976).
http://npgallery.nps.gov/nrhp/GetAsset?assetID=f3f8ab2f-3bcc-4258-ab6a-552af2a5c960

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

n/a

Acreage

n/a

Use (Present)

• Residential

Form Completed By

n/a

Date

n/a

Bibliography

1. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).
2. Raiche, Stephen J. 1976. Guilford Historic Town Center District National Register Nomination No. 76oo1988. National Park Service.