Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Norwalk Lock Co. c.1918-1943

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products

Largest Documented Workforce

n/a

Historic Narrative

For historical significance see National Register application: http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/00000939.pdf Norwalk Lock Co., founded by local investors in 1856, was the first large firm to build in the harbor district of South Norwalk. Before 1856 Norwalk's manufacturers, mostly hat producers, located on streams for water power. Using steam power from the start, the lock entrepreneurs were able to locate their plant convenient to transportation, with the harbor one block to the east and the New Haven Railroad running along the south boundary of the works. By 1860 the firm employed 100 workers producing locks and knobs. Despite mechanization of some operations, Norwalk Lock Co., unlike Yale and Towne [in Stamford] depended greatly on skilled manual labor. In 1870 the firm employed 230 people but owned only 110 machine tools: 50 lathes, 20 polishers, 10 milling machines and 30 other miscellaneous machines. Workers from England and Germany filled many of the crucial skilled jobs. Norwalk Lock operated here until after World War II, although by that time Segal Lock and Hardware Co. owned the company. In recent years the complex has been converted to offices and studios. No lock-making equipment survives. (Roth)

Number of Existing Buildings

n/a

Dates of Construction

1870, c.1900

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

n/a

Architectural Description

For description see National Register application: http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/00000939.pdf The largest extant structure is the 1870 brick factory, 3-story and 190' x 32', which housed the manual and machine operations performed before polishing. It features stone lintels and sills and paired brackets at the eaves; the central stair tower has lost its mansard roof. There were two foundries, one for brass and one for ferrous metals. Both are of brick (110' x 62'; 125' x 48') and have flat roofs with monitors. The brick, 3-story warehouse/packing department and 1-story, sawtooth-roofed press room, built around the turn of the century, also survive. (Roth)

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

n/a

Roof Form

• Flat
• Monitor
• Sawtooth

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

n/a

Condition

n/a

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

1.95 acres on south side of Marshall Street, north of railroad, east side of North Water Street

Individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 2/ 24/ 8/ 0 / Link →

Acreage

1.95

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Mixed-Use

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. National Register Nomination on file at office of SHPO, Hartford CT.