Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Aluminum Castings Corp. ca. 1945-1969
• J. Merritt Carriage Shop ca. 1890
• Jerome Paper Co. 1892-1928
• Norwalk Electric Motor Repair Co. 1983-Present (2015)

Use (Historic)

• Paper & Wood Products
• Transportation

Largest Documented Workforce

20 (1900).

Historic Narrative

This small plant was originally constructed ca. 1870. Although the original owner is not identified on a map of Norwalk created in 1875, as late as 1891 it was occupied by a carriage shop operated by a J. Merritt. By 1892, however, Merritt’s shop had closed and been replaced by the Jerome Paper Company, a toilet paper manufacturer. The Jerome Paper Company was organized in New York, New York by Edgar T. Jerome in 1890, and initially maintained offices at 570 7th Avenue in that city. The company’s Norwalk factory employed 20 hands at the turn of the century, and in addition to toilet paper, in 1893 was also awarded a patent for a machined metal toilet paper holder. It is unclear, however, whether this was also produced in its Norwalk factory, or if the work was contracted out to another firm. Edgar T. Jerome died in 1916, by which time control of the Jerome Paper Company had passed to S. Graham and Curtis T. Booz of New York. The toilet paper plant remained in operation into the late 1920s, yet fell silent in 1928. The factory remained vacant until the mid-1940s, when it was acquired by the Aluminum Castings Corporation, a newly-established firm founded and led by Norwalk residents Frank Karandisevsky and Stanley P. Michaels. The Aluminum Castings Corporation remained in business until 1969, whereupon the Commerce Street plant again fell silent for several years. It was repurposed for use as an art studio during the mid-1970s, yet was returned to industrial use in 1983. The present occupant of the former Jerome Paper Company plant is the Norwalk Electric Motor Repair Company, a firm specializing in the repair and rebuilding of electric motors. The company was organized in 1946 by Norwalk residents Nick Melfi Sr. and Andrew Detallic. The firm originally occupied a shop on Knight Street in Norwalk, yet moved to 80 Main Street after its building was damaged during the 1955 Flood. The business is currently operated by the third generation of family ownership and continues to occupy the Commerce Street plant despite damage incurred during a substantial fire in 1996.

Number of Existing Buildings

Three (3) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

ca. 1870, ca. 1945.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

The former Jerome Paper Company plant is comprised of three primary adjoining blocks located on the east side of Commerce Street, roughly 125’ south of Commerce Street’s intersection with Leonard Street. The mill’s main and original block is a three-and-a-half-story, 60’ x 48’ red brick building erected ca. 1870. This has a rough-cut brownstone foundation, segmental-arched window openings with stone sills, a mix of replacement fixed metal and replacement double-hung vinyl windows, and a side gabled roof. Two small double-hung windows are located in each of the gable ends. These are set in rectangular openings and have stone stills. A pair of one-story concrete block additions were erected adjoining the west and south ca. 1945. These form an L-shaped ell wrapping around the southwest corner of the original block, which measures 74’ across its west elevation, 58’ along its south elevation, and roughly 12’ deep. The majority of the exterior walls of the two blocks are faced with red brick and they have large rectangular window openings and flat roofs. Two loading bays are located on the plant’s south elevation, these enclosed with roll-up style metal doors.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete Block

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in fair condition. Although some of the windows in the oldest sections of the plant have been replaced, the factory appears to be well maintained and structurally sound.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (41 Commerce Street) totaling 0.15 acres located on the east side of Commerce Street, roughly 125’ south of Commerce Street’s intersection with Leonard Street.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 1/22/9/0. / Link →

Acreage

0.15

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Other: For sale 3/2022

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

11/05/2015

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 New Haven County; Clark, Richard, 1859.
6. Atlas of New Haven County, Beers, Ellis & Soule, 1868.
7. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1951, 1965, 1970, 1985.
8. Sanborn Map Company, 1891, 1896, 1901, 1906, 1922, 1950, 1958.
9. Norwalk Directory; Various editions.
10. New York Times, 1916.
11. Norwalk after Two-hundred & Fifty Years; Norwalk Historical and Memorial Library Assoc., 1901.
12. Norwalk; Grant, Lisa Wilson, 2014.