Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Malleable Iron Fittings Co. 1864-

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products
• Mining, Primary Metals

Largest Documented Workforce

1400 (c.1915)

Historic Narrative

For historical significance see National Register application: http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/84003897.pdf Joseph Nason of Boston founded Malleable Iron Fittings Co. (MIF) in 1864. Nason was developing and planning to market steam-heating systems; MIF was to cast and machine the pipe fittings for these systems. Nason and his partners bought the Totoket Co., a Branford foundry that made agricultural machinery parts, and converted it to cast and machine malleable iron fittings. By 1910 the production of miscellaneous castings exceeded the output of pipe fittings and MIF was equipped to cast steel and brass as well as iron. There is no equipment in the decommissioned plant to indicate which foundries were used for each material, but the massive size of the foundries illustrates the space requirements for a casting operation employing 1,400 people and with 23,500 tons annual capacity (c.1915). Some of the buildings now house tenants. (Roth)

Number of Existing Buildings

n/a

Dates of Construction

1880, c.1910, 1914

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

For description see National Register application: http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/84003897.pdf The structures on the site today date from 1880 to 1920. The earliest building is a 3-story, brick-pier factory, 200' x 50' with flat roof, timber framing, corbeled cornice, segmental-arch lintels and bluestone sills. It stands adjacent to a 1914 brick-pier factory (4- story, 220' x 90') which has a flat roof, central stair and water tower on its north side, and flat lintels of brick reinforced with steel shelf angles. Along with a c.1910 3-story, brick-pier factory (150' x 80'), these buildings housed most of the machining departments. The foundries comprised most of the 10 acres of floor space in the plant. There are two groups of foundries. The west group has two long foundries side-by-side, 500' x 70' and 350' x 60'. Both rise one high story and have brick-pier walls and steel lattice-girder framing, and both conform to the standard configuration of turn-of-the-century foundries: three long bays with the central bay under a narrow monitor. A later, and much wider, brickpier foundry, 210' x 135' with two stories in the side bays, spans across the ends of the two parallel foundries. The east group of foundries has nine monitor-roofed, steel-framed sections side-by-side. They range in length from 130' to 250' and total width is 550'. Three powerhouses, several smaller manufacturing buildings, a stone office building and an 800' long wharf along the Branford River complete the complex. (Roth) Contributing resource to Branford Center Historic District (http://npgallery.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/nrhp/text/87000636.pdf)

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Flat
• Monitor

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

n/a

Condition

n/a

Condition Notes

Only the eastern 'fittings foundry' and 'core shop' remain; the office and western foundries have been demolished.

Specific Location

South side of Indian Neck Avenue, accessed from Maple Street to the west.
Located in the Branford Center Historic District.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• D08-000-012-00003 / Link →
• D08/000/012/00002 multiple condos / Link →

Acreage

4.59

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Mixed-Use
• 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. Loether, J. Paul. 1987. Branford Center Historic District National Register Nomination No. 87000636. National Park Service.