Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

4n/a

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Connecticut State Trade School ca. 1940s
• Norwich & Worcester Railroad 1868-ca. 1900
• Reliance Worsted Co. ca. 1900-1912
• Vaughn Foundry Corp. ca. 1920s

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products
• Textiles
• Transportation

Largest Documented Workforce

225-250 (including East Main S

Historic Narrative

The Norwich and Worcester Railroad was created as a result of an 1837 merger of the Boston, Norwich and New London Railroad Company, and the Worcester and Norwich Railroad Company. The combined firm began operating between its two namesake cities in 1840 and, initially, the company’s primary passenger station, car shops, and storage sheds were located along Railroad Avenue in downtown Norwich. In 1868, a supplementary facility was constructed along North Main Street. This was used for the manufacture and repair of locomotives and consisted of a large round house and various machine, blacksmith, repair, boiler, and carpentry shops. By the turn of the century, the Norwich and Worcester Railroad had been acquired by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and the North Main Street facility was vacated. It was in turn occupied by the Reliance Worsted Company, which was organized ca. 1900 for the manufacture of woolen and worsted goods. By the early 1910s, the company had established a second plant on East Main Street in Norwich and the two facilities employed a total of 225 to 250 workers. The North Main Street facility contained 62 broadlooms and eight sets of carding machines, while the East Main Street plant was equipped with 30 looms and eight sets of cards. The Reliance Worsted Company continued to operate until 1913, when it was announced that the firm would be terminating its business due to the polluted condition of the Shetucket River. The high levels of dyes, oils, and tar that were discharged into the river by manufacturers upstream were ruining the textiles produced by Reliance Worsted and cost the company along the lines of $20,000 to $25,000 per year. The firm was capitalized at $94,000 at the time of its closure, which meant that stockholders faced a $75,000 loss. Regardless, the company’s equipment was put up for auction and by 1914 all had been sold. The North Main Street plant subsequently passed through the hands of various operators including the Vaughn Foundry Corporation and the Eastern Connecticut Power Company during the 1920s, and was used as a State Trade School during the 1940s.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly six (6) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1868, ca. 1930, ca. 1940

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Norwich and Worcester Railroad maintenance facility is comprised of approximately six primary adjoining and freestanding blocks located on the south side of North Main Street, roughly 925 feet north of North Main Street’s intersection with Main Street and along the west bank of the Shetucket River. The three red brick buildings comprising the majority of the complex were erected in 1868 and consist of a one-story roundhouse and two two-and-a-half-story maintenance blocks. The roundhouse has a fan-shaped footprint and measures roughly 144/ x 104’. It was enlarged through the addition of two red brick blocks on its north (front) elevation ca. 1930 and ca. 1940, which were used as commercial storefronts. They have large bay windows with concrete sills and corbelled brick cornices. The remaining buildings are located east of the roundhouse. That closest to it consists of a two-and-a-half-story, 168’ x 52’ red brick block with a one-story, 66’ x 56’ red brick ell on its south elevation. The main building was originally used as a machine shop and storage attic, while the ell housed a locomotive repair shop. The main building has recessed, full-height window bays, segmental-arched window openings, stone window sills, and a side-gabled roof. The original first-story fenestration consists of 16-over-16 double-hung sash, while that on the second floor was likely a 12-over-12 arrangement. Round-arched window bays are located on the gable-ends of the building, these consisting of a mix of blind, round-arched, and segmental-arched openings. The second maintenance building is almost identical to the first, yet has a gable-on-hip roof on its east elevation.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable
• Shed
• Other: Gable-on-hip

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• EPDM
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The factory is in overall fair condition. Although some of the exterior walls are in need of repairs or repointing and most of the original windows have been replaced or infilled, the majority of the facility appears structurally sound and reasonably well maintained.

Specific Location

Three legal parcels (47-55, 65-69 & 77-83 North Main Street) totaling 1.56-acres on the south side of North Main Street, roughly 925 feet north of North Main Street’s intersection with Main Street and along the west bank of the Shetucket River.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads
• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 103/1/31 / Link →
• 103/1/30 / Link →
• 102/5/29 / Link →

Acreage

1.56

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

06/24/2015

Bibliography

1. List of Connecticut Manufacturers, 1922, 1924, 1930, 1932.
2. Directory of Connecticut State Manufacturers, 1936, 1939.
3. Industrial Directory of Connecticut, 1947.
4. Register of War Production Facilities in Connecticut, 1951.
5. Map of New London County; Baker, William A., 1854.
6. Atlas of New London County, Beers, Ellis & Soule, 1868.
7. Birdseye View of Norwich, Connecticut; Vogt, C.H., 1876.
8. Aero View of Norwich, Connecticut; Hughes and Bailey, 1912.
9. Sanborn Map Company, 1885, 1892, 1897, 1903, 1909, 1914, 1926, 1949.
10. Hartford Courant, 1913.
11. Norwich, Connecticut; Norwich Board of Trade, 1888.
12. Norwich, The Rose of New England; Norwich Evening Record, 1894.
13. Norwich, Century of Growth; Society of the Founders of Norwich, CT, 1978.
14. Norwich; Plummer, Dale, 2003.
15. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).