Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Connecticut Mills Co.
• Danielson Mill
• Powdrell Alexander Inc.

Use (Historic)

• Textiles

Largest Documented Workforce

200 (1897)

Historic Narrative

In the first years of the 19th century James Danielson farmed the land between the Five Mile and Quinebaug Rivers. In 1809 he formed a partnership, including local men plus Israel Day of Providence and Ira and Stephen Draper of Attleboro, to build a frame cotton mill. A stone mill was added c.1817 and by 1819 the Danielson Manufacturing Co. was weaving with power looms. Danielson's sons ran the mills (now destroyed) after his death. Cotton shortages forced the mills to close in 1864, after which a group of Providence capitalists headed by Daniel G. Sherman bought the property. Sherman's firm, incorporated as Danielson Cotton Co., erected the extant brick-pier mill in 1868. The firm was reorganized in 1880 with Rhode Island's B. B. Knight as president. He was succeeded by C. Prescott Knight, who supervised construction of the sawtooth-roofed weave shed (about 200' x 150') at the mills' north end. The shed held 451 looms in 1897, when spindles numbered 21,080 and employees 210. Nearly 160 years of continuous textile production on this site ended in 1964 when a dyeing firm expired. A fence manufacturer occupies the mills today. (Roth) Powdrell and Alexander: curtain finishing; cotton goods finishing

Number of Existing Buildings

n/a

Dates of Construction

1868, 1880

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

n/a

Architectural Description

Four stories with basement, the 219' x 78' mill has a near-flat roof and segmentally arched windows with stone sills. The central stair tower has round-arched freight openings. The 2-story brick picker house, 63' x 43', adjoins the mill's east wall. To the south are the 2-story brick office and 1-story brick engine house, which once held a Corliss steam engine. Power was primarily by water, with the 110'-long, 15'-high masonry dam (partially rebuilt in 1920) yielding 24' head for 360 horsepower... The sawtooth-roofed weave shed (about 200' x 150') at the mills' north end [was built in 1880.] (Roth)

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

n/a

Roof Form

• Flat
• Monitor

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

n/a

Condition

n/a

Condition Notes

As of 2014, Women's Institute Realty of CT in partnership with United Services Inc., plan to demolish all but clock tower and build a 32 affordable apartment mixed use complex.

Specific Location

4.1 acres between Maple Street to the west and Fivemile River to the east, adjacent to Fivemile Pond Dam

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 198-48 / Link →

Acreage

4.1

Use (Present)

• Other: Property in redev for residential by Women’s Institute for Affordable Housing and United Services Inc.

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).