Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Rockwell-Drake Corp. c.1915-c.1917
• Standard Roller Bearing Co. c.1917-c.1919
• Standard Steel and Bearing Inc., Division of Marlin Rockwell Corp. c.1919-c.1980s

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products
• Mining, Primary Metals

Largest Documented Workforce

n/a

Historic Narrative

Albert F. Rockwell, one of the founders of the Bristol based New Departure Company, formed the Rockwell-Drake Corporation for the manufacture of ball bearings in the mid-1900s, locating the plant in Plainville. The facility was comprised of two brick and steel factory buildings on 18 acres. Rockwell-Drake Corp. was one of eight ball bearing manufacturers that were merged in 1917 under a single umbrella entity associated with Marlin Rockwell, the Standard Roller Bearing Co. They produced a large variety of anti-friction bearings for a range of applications, particularly the automotive industry. After World War I, the holding company was renamed the Standard Steel and Bearing Inc., Division of Marlin Rockwell Corp., and all bearing manufacturing operations were consolidated at the Plainville facility in 1923. In 1924, Gurney Ball Bearing Company of New Jersey merged with the Marlin Rockwell Corp., as did Strom Ball Bearing Manufacturing Corp. out of Chicago in 1925. By 1930, all of the ball bearing plants assumed the Marlin Rockwell Corp. name. From the 1930s until the United States’ entrance into World War II, the company experienced waves of strikes and labor disputes. While the turmoil was suppressed during increased war-time production, post-war strikes continued up until the 1980s, ending in plant closure. The building is now the Plainville Industrial Center.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly eight (8) blocks.

Dates of Construction

c.1915, c.1922 to c.1970

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The complex is made up of several large, single-story buildings constructed over time. The oldest buildings date from c.1915. The northwesternmost section is a three bay brick production shed that held the machining operations, offices and storage of the steel company. The three bays of the building run east and west and each has a monitor on the roof. To the west of the northern bay, a triangular addition, without monitors, was built in two stages (1931-1941 and after 1942). To the south, there is a large modern one-story L-shaped addition that is the main entrance to the current Plainville Industrial Park. This building was undoubtedly constructed after 1942 and likely in the 1970s or 1980s. To the east, there is another square, single-story loading building (used for loading trucks) that was constructed in the same era (c.1970-1980). To the north, running north and south, is a one-story brick, monitor roof building that served as the hardening department. The building was built in two stages. The southern half of the building was constructed between 1923 and 1931 and the northern half in c. 1922. Attached to this building to the east is another one-story brick building built in two stages. The northern section was constructed between 1931 and 1942 and the southern section after 1943.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Flat
• Monitor

Roof Material

• Metal

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Good, Fair, Deteriorated

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

One 12.54 acre parcel on the north side Woodford Avenue in Plainville, Connecticut. The plant sits just east of the General Electric Plant (former Trumbull Electric Company), south of the railroad tracks and west of Hamlin Pond.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads
• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 30-A-01A / Link →

Acreage

12.54

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Industrial
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Mike Forino

Date

August 2014

Bibliography

1. 1947 Industrial Directory of Connecticut.
2. Hartford Courant, 1919-1980.
3. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1922-1942.
4. Moodys Manual of Railroads and Corporation Securities, 1922 Industrial Section Vol. II (New York, Blair and Co. Inc., 1922).
5. MRC Bearing Services, Engineering Handbook (nd).