Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Dover Hardware Co. c.1923-1951
• New England Warp Co. 1898 - c.1924
• New Haven Nail Company 1885 - 1898

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products
• Textiles

Largest Documented Workforce

n/a

Historic Narrative

See River St HD In 1883 [Hobart] Bigelow set up another firm, National Pipe Bending, to fabricate the tubes that comprised the largest portion of his boilers' internal components. In just seven years National Pipe Bending outgrew its 1883 building, north of River Street, and moved across the road. In 1885 Hobart Bigelow played a formative role in the next firm to build on River Street, the New Haven Nail Company. His partner was C. S. Mersick, co-owner of English and Mersick, which ran one of the city's largest carriage factories as well as a hardware-wholesaling and metals-importing firm. With construction of the nail works north of River Street, this neighborhood became the metal-fabricating capital of New Haven. The only divergence from this metalworking during the period of the district's significance began in 1898, when the New England Warp Company, a specialized textile producer, took over the nail-works property (where it remained for 30 years) (Roth 1988).

Number of Existing Buildings

One

Dates of Construction

1885, 1898

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

n/a

Architectural Description

The New Haven Nail Company Building, 1885, is a 2-story frame structure with near-flat roof, now clad in stucco. The original building includes a small 2-story ell at the southwest corner. Around 1900 a later occupant, the New England Warp Company, extended the main building to the rear and filled in the space behind the ell with brick construction. The site is now part of the property belonging to the Flint Ladder Company, which after 1946 extended the main structure north to Chapel Street with concrete-block and brick construction, and built a small 1-story addition onto the original southwest ell (Roth 1988).

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Wood

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Flat

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

n/a

Condition

n/a

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

north side of River Street, between Lloyd St and Blatchley Ave

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 165/704/600 / Link →

Acreage

0.32

Use (Present)

n/a

Form Completed By

n/a

Date

n/a

Bibliography

1. Roth, Matthew and Bruce Clouette. 1988. River Street Historic District National Register Nomination No. 88003213. National Park Service.