Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Carrier & Smith Carriage Manufactory 1895
• Evans Brother Carriage Manufactory 1881-1888
• J.B. Evans Carriage Manufactory 1888-1895
• L.B. Evans Carriage Manufactory 1896-1915
• Mohawk Manufacturing Company, Inc. 1922-1957

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products
• Transportation

Largest Documented Workforce

50-99 (1936)

Historic Narrative

The oldest of the three blocks comprising the former Mohawk Manufacturing Company factory was erected circa 1850. In 1859, a map of Middlesex County identifies the owner as N. Bacon, a manufacturer of bank and safe locks. By 1874, the building had been acquired by Daniel R. Benham, a wealthy individual identified in local directories as a merchant tailor. It is likewise uncertain whether Benham used the mill for his own purposes or rented it, however, in 1881 it passed to Theodore F. and James B. Evans, builders and repairers of carriages. The Evans Brothers Carriage Manufactory was reorganized as the J.B. Evans Carriage Manufactory in 1888. The latter continued to operate on Hamlin Street until 1895, whereupon it was replaced by the firm of Carrier and Smith, a carriage dealership, manufactory, and repair shop maintained by William O. Carrier and N. H. Smith. Carrier and Smith only occupied the building for one just year and in 1896 it returned to the control of James B. Evans, who had been listed as an employee of Carrier and Smith in 1895. From 1896 until 1915, James B. Evans managed a firm by the name of L.B. Evans Carriage Manufacturers, this perhaps named after his wife, Louisa B. Evans. After closing its doors L.B. Evans was replaced by the O.K. Cleaning and Dying Company. This in turn was replaced by the Adjustable House Dress Company by 1919, and then the Mohawk Manufacturing Company, which acquired the building in 1922. The Mohawk Manufacturing Company was incorporated in Waterbury in 1921. In 1922 the company purchased the factory building at 56 Hamlin Street in order to expand its line of sheet metal brass goods. The firm immediately constructed the 36’ x 70’ addition on the south side of the original block and was soon producing a diverse line of sheet metal stampings and wire products. These included springs for automobiles and eyelets for fishing poles. Through the 1920s the company was managed by George Boden, president and treasurer; Walter R. Morse, secretary; and Boden’s son, Percy, assistant treasurer. By the late 1930s, at a time in which the firm employed between 50 and 99 workers, the Bodens had secured full ownership. During the 1950s the company in turn passed to John and George Boden, Percy’s sons, who eliminated the firm’s wire lines in order to focus on newly developed tapping and stamping operations. In 1957 the Mohawk Manufacturing Company sold the Hamlin Street plant to Wesleyan University and established a new factory on Newfield Street in Middletown. The company continues to operate from this location as of December 2014.

Number of Existing Buildings

Three (3) blocks.

Dates of Construction

ca. 1850, ca. 1881, 1922

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

The former Mohawk Manufacturing Company plant is comprised of an adjoining complex of three blocks located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Hamlin and College Streets. The factory’s original block was erected ca. 1850 and consists of a two-story red brick structure with rectangular footprint, plain cornice, cornice returns, and a side gabled roof. The building measures roughly 82’ x 30’ and there is a 26’ x 22’ one-story ell on its east elevation. The window openings throughout the primary block have splayed brick lintels, wood sills, and replacement double-hung vinyl sash. Except for a pair of replacement metal doors located on a loading dock on the west side of the building, the structure retains its original paneled wood doors, these having four glass lights in their upper half. A two-story addition is located on the south side of the main block and gives the overall structure a T-shaped footprint. This was built in 1922 and measures 36’ x 70’. The block has a concrete foundation, red brick walls, stepped full-height brick piers with concrete caps, a simple brick cornice, and flat roof. Fenestration consists of multi-pane steel windows with hopper style sash. The windows on the ground level are either covered with wire screens or have been boarded up. An enclosed frame stair tower is located on the east (rear) elevation of the block.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• EPDM

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Fair, Deteriorated

Condition Notes

All portions of the complex are in generally fair condition, however, some of the exterior walls and windows are deteriorated.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (56 Hamlin Street) totaling 0.16 acres at the southeast corner of Hamlin and College Streets.
Individually listed on the State Register of Historic Places.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 24/ / 0137 / Link →

Acreage

0.16

Use (Present)

• Other: 5/2023: Both blocks to be rehabbed by Wesleyan University as part of new Integrated Arts Lab with new addition. 2024: the 19th block was demolished and rebuilt as Wesleyan indicated structural concerns; the 1922 block is being rehabbed.
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

11/25/2014

Bibliography

1. List of Connecticut Manufacturers, 1922, 1924, 1930, 1932.
2. Directory of Connecticut State Manufacturers, 1936, 1939.
3. Atlas of Middlesex County, F.W. Beers & Co., 1874.
4. Middletown Bird’s Eye View, 1877, 1915.
5. Industrial Directory of Connecticut, 1947.
6. Register of War Production Facilities in Connecticut, 1951.
7. Sanborn Map Company, 1889, 1895, 1901, 1913, 1924, 1950.
8. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1965.
9. The Hartford Courant, 1922.
10. Mohawk Manufacturing Company Website, 2014.
11. State Register Nomination on file at office of SHPO, Hartford CT.