Mill Record Bridgeport

RETURN TO ‘FIND MILLS’

Disclaimer: Content for these properties was compiled in 2014-2017 from a variety of sources and is subject to change. Updates are occasionally made under Property Information, however the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation (dba Preservation Connecticut) makes no representation or warranty that the information is complete or up-to-date.

Complex Name (Common)
John S. Fray Co.
Complex Name (Historic)
  • American Tube and Stamping Co.
  • Bell Tone Manufacturing Co.
  • Cornwall and Patterson Co.
  • Stanley Rule and Level Co.
  • John S. Fray Co.
Address or Location
938 Crescent Avenue, Bridgeport
County
Fairfield
Historic Designation
Associated Mill Community
n/a
Historic Information

Companies Associated w/Complex

  • American Tube and Stamping Company c.1920s
  • Bell Tone Manufacturing Co. 1926-
  • Cornwall and Patterson Company c.1950s
  • John S. Fray Company c.1880s
  • Stanley Rule and Level Co. 1926-c.1950s

Use (Historic)

Largest Documented Workforce

51-100

Historic Narrative

John S. Fray (1833- ) immigrated to Bridgeport from England in the 1850s and apparently established a working relationship with Nelson Spofford, who held an 1858 patent for a bit brace (a bit brace is a primitive drill; utilizing a C-shaped steel bar, the tool could be augured in a continuous circular motion by hand). He established the John S. Fray Co. around the same time and immediately began producing the Spofford bit brace. Fray himself held at least two patents: one awarded in 1869 for a boring brace attachment, and another awarded in 1883 for a tool handle. By 1889, the firm was located at the industrial complex that sits between the former International Silver Company and the former Bridgeport Chain Company on Crescent Avenue, and is identified on the Sanborn Insurance Atlas as a manufacturer of Spofford bit braces, hollow handle awl and tool sets. The company was in competition with Peck Stow and Wilcox Co. of Southington, and in 1898 was enjoined from making a ratchet bit brace for which the latter company held a patent. By the 1920s, the factory had been purchased by the Stanley Company of New Britain, and leased to the American Tube and Stamping Company, a manufacturer of brass, copper, seamless and bicycle tubing, which also ran a rolling mill to the south on Stafford Avenue (now demolished). The Stanley Company bought both mills in 1926, perhaps as a strategic move to be located along the Bridgeport Harbor, through which much of the raw material used in its operations throughout the state came. By the 1950s, the Crescent Avenue operations had been moved to other sites in Connecticut, and Stanley again leased the building to a company called Cornwall and Patterson, a manufacturer of piano hardware. Today the building appears to be vacant. (The rolling mill on Seaview Avenue was sold in 1954 to the Mailman Brothers, who controlled other steel mills in the US and Canada; it was demolished for construction of I-95.)

Architectural Information

Number of Existing Buildings

Six (6) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

c.1880s-c.1950

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

Architectural Description

The oldest building on the site was built before 1889; it is a three-story brick loft that runs perpendicular to Crescent Avenue, with a small, single-story brick office building on its northern end. Between 1898 and 1913 there were two perpendicular three-story brick additions to the east and west sides. Attached to the south of the pre-1889 building is a flat roof, three-story, brick building built between 1939 and 1950, and further south are two one-story buildings constructed after 1950.

Exterior Material(s)

Structural System(s)

Roof Form

Roof Material

Power Source

Condition

Good, Fair, Deteriorated

Condition Notes

All portions of the building are in generally good condition.

Property Information

Specific Location

The factory is located on 1.4 acres on Crescent Avenue between the former International Silver Company along Seaview Avenue and the former Bridgeport Chain Company along Bunnell Street.

Adjacent To

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

Acreage

1.4

Use (Present)

Sources

Form Completed By

Michael Forino

Date

August 2014

Bibliography

  1. 'John S. Fray and Co. Enjoined,' The Hartford Courant, 25 July, 1898.
  2. The Iron Age Directory, (New York: David Williams Co., 1903, 1906, 1909).
  3. 'John S. Fray and Co.,' Sanford Moss, June 2014. Web; accessed August 2014.
  4. Patent information accessed via Google:.
  5. Patent information accessed through Google.
  6. Patent information accessed through Google.
Representative View(s)Click on image to view full file



Photographer

n/a

Photography Date

August 2014