Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Beverage Crown Corp. ca. 1952
• Gora-Lee Co. 1947-1959
• Hanson-Van Winkle-Munning Co. 1947-1959
• Ohio Rubber Co., div. of Eagle-Picher Industries, Inc. 1959-ca. 2000
• Rotary File Co. 1940-1947
• Sherman Metal Products Co. 1944-1947

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products
• Machine Tools, Machinery
• Rubber & Chemicals

Largest Documented Workforce

Unknown.

Historic Narrative

The former Ohio Rubber Company plant was originally constructed as two separate manufacturing facilities. The eastern portion of the plant is the earlier of the two and was built for the Rotary File Company in 1940. The Rotary File Company manufactured hand cut high-speed rotary files and burrs and was established by Stratford resident Charles A. Mertens in 1936. The company initially occupied a factory on Wilcoxson Avenue in Stratford and moved to East Main Street in 1937 before erecting the Seymour Street plant. The western portion of the Ohio Rubber Company factory was built for the Sherman Metal Products Company around 1944. Both the Rotary File Company and the Sherman Metal Products Company closed their doors and vacated their Seymour Street factories in 1947. The Rotary File Company and the Sherman Metal Products Company plants in turn passed to the Hanson-Van Winkle-Munning Company, a plater’s supply firm; and the Gora-Lee Company, a molded rubber goods manufacturer, respectively. In 1952, another tenant, the Beverage Crown Corporation, occupied a portion of the Hanson-Van Winkle-Munning space. This arrangement lasted until 1959 when the Gora-Lee Company was acquired by the Ohio Rubber Company division of Eagle-Picher Industries, Inc., a manufacturing and resource extraction company. Ohio Rubber merged and expanded the Seymour Street plant during the early 1960s and occupied the complex until ca. 2000. The factory presently houses a variety of small light industrial and commercial firms.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly three (3) adjoining primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1940, ca. 1944, ca. 1960, 1949-1965.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Ohio Rubber Company factory is comprised of roughly three adjoining blocks located on the north side of Seymour Street, and at the northeast corner of the intersection of Seymour Street and Sherman Street. The plant was erected in various phases between 1940 and 1965 and appears as a cluttered amalgam of red brick, wood frame, concrete block, and corrugated metal structures. The oldest section of the factory is the one- and two-story, 130’ x 60’ red brick and concrete block building at the southeast corner of the plant. This was built in 1940 and then expanded through the erection of a small addition on its east elevation between 1949 and 1965. A cluster of one- and two-story structures measuring roughly 57’ x 116’ overall and located on the western side of the complex were originally built in ca. 1944 and then expanded between 1949 and 1965. The two aforementioned portions of the plant did not adjoin originally, however, expansions to the factory completed ca. 1960 resulted in its unification. The final most substantial addition to the factory was likewise completed ca. 1960 and consists of the two-story, 114’ x 80’ steel frame and corrugated metal building situated on the north side of the complex and fronting on Soundview Avenue. This block is notable for the multi-pane metal ribbon windows that wrap around all four elevations just below the building’s roofline.

Exterior Material(s)

• Aluminum Siding or Paneling
• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Structural Steel or Iron
• Wood Frame

Roof Form

• Flat

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• EPDM
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in fair condition. Portions of the plant has recently been rehabilitated, however, much of the complex is need of maintenance or repairs to the exterior walls and windows.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (382 Seymour Street) totaling 0.75 acres located on the north side of Seymour Street, and at the northeast corner of the intersection of Seymour Street and Sherman Street.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 30/8/18/1. / Link →

Acreage

0.75

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Industrial

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

08/04/2015

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 Fairfield County; Baker, William A., 1854.
6. Sanborn Map Company, 1924, 1949.
7. Bridgeport City Directory, Various editions.
8. History of Bridgeport and Vicinity, 1917.