Mill Record Meriden

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Disclaimer: Content for these properties was compiled in 2014-2017 from a variety of sources and is subject to change. Updates are occasionally made under Property Information, however the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation (dba Preservation Connecticut) makes no representation or warranty that the information is complete or up-to-date.

Complex Name (Common)
Parker Brothers Gun Co.
Complex Name (Historic)
  • Parker Brothers Gun Co.
Address or Location
26 Cherry Street, Meriden
County
New Haven
Historic Designation
Associated Mill Community
n/a
Historic Information

Companies Associated w/Complex

  • Meriden Machine Co. ca. 1853-ca. 1860
  • Meriden Manufacturing Co. ca. 1865-1868
  • Parker Brothers Gun Co. 1868-1934
  • Parker, Snow, Brooks & Co. ca. 1860-ca. 1865
  • Youngberg Brothers Co. ca. 1950-1956

Use (Historic)

Largest Documented Workforce

100-500 (1927).

Historic Narrative

The Parker Brothers Gun Company Office Building was likely erected by the Meriden Machine Company shortly after it was formed by Charles Parker and representatives of Snow, Hotchkiss and Company in 1853. Parker was a well established industrialist by this point in time having founded his first manufactory for the production of coffee mills in 1832 and he would eventually establish numerous other ventures throughout Meriden. The Meriden Machine Company was organized for the production of various machine goods and the firm continued to operate until ca. 1860 when one of its chief machinists and a former bit and auger manufacturer, James S. Brooks, was brought into the firm. The company’s title was changed to Parker, Snow, Brooks and Company, which secured a substantial contract from the United States government in 1863 to manufacture 15,000 rifle muskets. The company built up a sprawling plant on the north side of Cherry Street, with only the office building being located on the southern side. Most of the parts comprising the 15,000 rifles supplied by Parker, Snow, Brooks and Company in 1864 and 1865 were manufactured by other Connecticut companies and then assembled at the Meriden plant. The company also employed its own highly skilled mechanics and produced 10,000 repeating rifles during the war, an experience that likely inspired the firm’s subsequent shift into the firearms business. By January 1865, Charles Parker had secured majority control of Parker, Snow, Brooks and Company and changed its name to the Meriden Manufacturing Company. This firm began production of high-quality yet inexpensive breech-loading shotguns in the post-war period and in short order the factory was largely dedicated to the manufacture of these sporting guns. In 1868 Charles Parker joined with his sons Wilbur, Charles, and Dexter to form the Parker Brothers Gun Company. This firm focused on the production of utilitarian, yet widely revered shotguns. Contemporary advertisements boast ‘the best and lowest priced gun in the world,’ of which some 242,000 were produced by 1934 when Parker Brothers was bought out by the Remington Arms Company. Remington continued to manufacture shotguns at the Parker Brothers plant until 1938 when the firm moved all production to Ilion, New York, and sold the plant to the International Silver Company. It appears that International Silver only used the factory for storage and shipment purposes and the office building was acquired by the Youngberg Brothers Company, which produced wood and metal novelties and occupied the building until it relocated to Brunswick, Maine in 1956. With the exception of the office building, the entirety of the complex was destroyed by fire in 1970.

Architectural Information

Number of Existing Buildings

Four (4) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

ca. 1853, ca. 1920, ca. 1950, ca. 1960.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

Architectural Description

The Parker Brothers Gun Company office building is the last surviving structure historically associated with the substantial Parker Brothers Gun Company plant. It consists of four stuccoed red brick or concrete block buildings located on the south side of Cherry Street and west side of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford rail line. The original and primary portion of the plant was likely erected ca. 1853. It measures 25’ x 60’, stands two stories tall, and is three bays wide and seven deep. The block is of Greek Revival styling and has rectangular window openings with stone sills and lintels, six-over-six double-hung wood sash, a denticulated cornice, cornice returns, and a front-facing gable roof. An enclosed portico with a front-facing gable roof and Stick style detailing is located in the façade’s westernmost bay. A roll-up garage-style door has been added in the center and east bays. A one-story, 25’ x 62 addition was erected on the south side of the original block ca. 1920. This is constructed of concrete block and has a front-facing gable roof. It was expanded westward through the addition of a one-story, 27’ x 43’ concrete garage ca. 1950. The final portion of the building was erected ca. 1960. This consists of a four-bay garage adjoining the west elevation of the original block. The ca. 1960 building is of concrete block construction and has a shed roof. As noted, all of the blocks have recently been stuccoed.

Exterior Material(s)

Structural System(s)

Roof Form

Roof Material

Power Source

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The factory is in overall fair condition. All of the exterior walls have recently been stuccoed and painted and a large percentage of the original windows remain, however, a number of the latter are in need of maintenance.

Property Information

Specific Location

One 0.29-acre parcel (26 Cherry Street) on the south side of Cherry Street and west side of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford rail line.

Adjacent To

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

Acreage

0.29

Use (Present)

Sources

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

05/22/2015

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 Haven County, H & C.T. Smith, 1856.
  6. Atlas of New Haven County, Beers, Ellis & Soule, 1868.
  7. Birdseye View of Meriden, Connecticut, O.H. Bailey & Co., 1875.
  8. Birdseye View of Meriden, Connecticut, Hughes and Bailey, 1918.
  9. Sanborn Map Company, 1884, 1891, 1896, 1901, 1950, 1953.
  10. Hartford Courant, 1934.
  11. An Historic Record and Pictorial Description of the Town of Meriden, Connecticut; Gillespie, C. Bancroft, ed., 1906.
  12. A Modern History of New Haven and Eastern New Haven County; Hill, Everett G., 1918.
  13. History of New Haven County, Connecticut; Rockey, John L., 1892.
Representative View(s)Click on image to view full file


Photographer

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Photography Date

05/22/2015