Mill Record Watertown

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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)
Scovill Manufacturing Company, Oakville Division
Complex Name (Historic)
  • Old Pin Shop
  • Scovill Manufacturing Company, Oakville Division
Address or Location
20 and 27 Main Street, Oakville, Watertown
County
Litchfield
Historic Designation
Associated Mill Community
n/a
What can you do at this mill?
Historic Information

Companies Associated w/Complex

  • Oakville Company 1852
  • Oakville Pin Co. 1915
  • Scovill Manufacturing Company, Oaville Division 1923-Closing

Use (Historic)

Largest Documented Workforce

2000

Historic Narrative

The first known use of the Oakville water privilege was a gristmill built by James Williams in 1729. In 1852, the newly formed Oakville Company, organized by a conglomerate of area brass and metal producers for the express purpose of manufacturing garment hardware, paper clips, and other metal fasteners, occupied the site. Among its most notable founders were members of both the Scovill and Leavenworth families of Waterbury, Connecticut, which had established the Scovill Brass Company of Waterbury in 1802 (incorporated as Scovill Manufacturing Company in 1850). Scovill Brass Company’s considerable role in ordnance production, especially brass shell casings and uniform buttons, during World War I, resulted in financial prosperity. It began an acquisition campaign, and purchased the Oakville Manufacturing Company in December 1923 (becoming the Oakville Division of Scovill), as well as the American Pin Company in Waterbury, and several other large manufacturing operations throughout the Naugatuck Valley. Corporate acquisitions continued into the years of the Great Depression with purchase of the O.K. Manufacturing Company of Oswego, New York, a firm that had gone into receivership the previous year. O.K. Manufacturing Company’s equipment and operations were moved to the Oakville Division, which continued to produce the O.K. brand paper fasteners. Any financial hardship experienced by the Scovill Manufacturing Company during the Great Depression was soon alleviated with the start of war in Europe in 1939. Scovill began producing supplies for the Allied forces in Europe and the United States after its entrance into the war in 1941. The Oakville Division made ordnance components and pins. By 1950, the factory was reported to be one of the ‘Big Four’ pin manufacturers in the country sharing over 90% of the domestic market share of stainless steel safety pins with the Risdon Manufacturing Company in Naugatuck, William Prym Inc. in Dayville, and the DeLong Hook and Eye Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Military contracts continued into the Korean War, when the company produced combat helmet components and the first ever marketed ‘Damascus’ stainless steel safety pins, perhaps the company’s best known product. The Oakville Division became the largest company in Oakville, regularly employing upwards of 2,000 men and women.

Architectural Information

Number of Existing Buildings

Six (6) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

c. 1852, c. 1890, 1917

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

Architectural Description

The site is composed of two separate lots, to the north and south of Main Street. The complex’s oldest buildings are on the north side. A two-story brick building with western one-story addition at the southwest corner of the northern complex served as the company office, and likely dates to c. 1852-60. Attached to the east and northeast are two parallel brick wood-frame blocks with central connector built at separate times between c.1870 and c.1890: the southern block is approx. 320’ by 40’; the northern block is approx. 300’ by 40’. Since the factory is built into a hillside, the buildings are four-stories at the southwest elevations, and three-stories at the northeast elevations. At the northern end of the complex is a brick powerhouse with smokestack; in 1927 the factory operated with a combination of water turbine and steam power. This was likely built around the same time as the northern main block. Buildings on the southern lot are connected to the northern buildings by two catwalks. A five-story brick wood-frame block, approx. 280’ by 40’, was built at an angle to the northern complex, likely in the 1890s. Attached to it to the east is a U-shaped, four-story concrete and steel block constructed c. 1917.

Exterior Material(s)

Structural System(s)

Roof Form

Roof Material

Power Source

Condition

Excellent, Good, Fair

Condition Notes

The two largest buildings on the north and south side of main street are in overall good condition and show little signs of exterior deterioration. Some of the interior portions of the building that are unused do show signs of deterioration however. The smaller outbuildings on the south lot are structurally sound but generally not as well kept.

Property Information

Specific Location

Two parcels totaling 24.47 acres on either side of Main Street in the Oakville section of Watertown on the Waterbury-Watertown town line

Adjacent To

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

  • 134 / 197 / 32 north side of Main St / Link →
  • 133 / 217 / 1 south side of Main St / Link →

Acreage

8.27; 16.2

Use (Present)

Sources

Form Completed By

Michael Forino

Date

August 2015

Bibliography

  1. Hartford Courant, 1923-1985.
  2. Litchfield Country Times, 2001.
  3. Sanborn Maps, 1923-1962.
  4. Bronson, Henry. 1858. The history of Waterbury, Connecticut; the original township embracing present Watertown and Plymouth, and parts of Oxford, Wolcott, Middlebury, Prospect and Naugatuck. Waterbury: Bronson Bros.
  5. Pape, William J. 1918. History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company.
  6. Crowell, Florence T. 2002. Watertown. Charleston, SC: Arcadia.
  7. Kelley, Etna M. 1954. The business founding date directory. Scarsdale, N.Y.: Morgan & Morgan.
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Photographer

Michael Forino

Photography Date

August 2015