Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Drawn Metal Tool Company
• Hartley Tool and Die Company c.1955
• Seth Thomas Clock Company c.1870-c.1955

Use (Historic)

• Clocks, Precision Equipment
• Fabricated Metal Products

Largest Documented Workforce

n/a

Historic Narrative

The Seth Thomas Clock Company of Thomaston developed from a long tradition of clock-making in the Naugatuck River Valley. Seth Thomas (1785-1859) apprenticed with one of the most famous clock makers of his day, Eli Terry (for whom Terryville, Connecticut is named). In 1807 Terry hired Thomas to make parts for wooden clocks, and together with Silas Hoadley, the three made clocks in Plymouth, Connecticut, under the name Terry, Thomas, and Hoadley. Thomas and Hoadley bought out Terry in 1809. Thomas then sold his interest to Hoadley in 1813 to start his own shop in Plymouth Hollow (renamed Thomaston after his death), which he incorporated in 1853. By the 1880s, the Seth Thomas Clock Company comprised three factory locations: the case shop on South Main Street, the marine shop on Marine Street (demolished), and the movement shop on Elm Street. In the 1930s, Seth Thomas Clock was purchased by the General Time Corporation, a conglomerate that bought many clock-making companies throughout the Naugatuck Valley. The movement shop was developed in the 1860s in a former cotton mill to which additions were made. The bulk of the movement shop was located on the south side of Elm Street on the west bank of the Naugatuck River, and, with the exception of a few small storage buildings, has since been demolished (possibly in the 1955 flood). What remains, at the southwest corner of East Main Street and Elm Street, is a building that was used for storage, dial painting and assembly. By 1940, the surviving movement shop structure was occupied by the Hartley Tool and Die Company (now operating at 135 South Main Street in the Seth Thomas case factory). Hartley Tool and Die Co. makes carbide crush rolls, cemented carbide dies and bushings; the president in 1956 was Earle W. Hartley Jr. The building is now occupied by the Drawn Metal Tube Company (established in 1937).

Number of Existing Buildings

Two (2) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

c.1870, c.1950

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Loft
• Mill

Architectural Description

The northernmost block was likely built c.1870; it is a three story brick pier structure, approximately 40' by 160', with arched windows and central projecting stair tower. A third floor passage originally connected the stair tower to the main plant across Elm Street, where now only a former brick boiler house remains. To the south is a single-story, brick and steel framed addition measuring approximately 140' by 140', built c.1950-1960.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Post and Beam
• Structural Steel or Iron
• Wood Frame

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Good

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

SWC of Park Street and Elm Street

Adjacent To

• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 40 15 09 / Link →

Acreage

0.97

Use (Present)

• Industrial
• Other: Factory closed and for sale 2025.

Form Completed By

Michael Forino

Date

08/20/2015

Bibliography

1. Sanborn Insurance Atlases.
2. Hartford Courant.
3. Pape, William J. History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut,. Chicago; New York: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1918.
4. Kelley, Etna M. The Business Founding Date Directory. Scarsdale, N.Y.: Morgan & Morgan, 1954.
5. Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, Vol.566 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1944).
6. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).
7. Seth Thomas archives are held by the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors.