Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• New England Collapsible Tube Co. 1911-late-20th c.
• Sheffield Dentifrice 1911-late-20th c.
• Sheffield Pharmaceuticals late-20th c. - Present (2015)

Use (Historic)

• Rubber & Chemicals

Largest Documented Workforce

450 (1971)

Historic Narrative

The Sheffield Dentifrice Company was formally established by Dr. Washington Wentworth Sheffield, a dentist and native of North Stonington, Connecticut, in 1880. A skilled practitioner, Sheffield was the inventor of crown and bridge dental work and he also maintained a laboratory where he experimented with various concoctions of dental creams throughout the 1850s, 1860s and 1870s. This work led him to organize the aforementioned firm, which eventually unveiled ‘Dr. Sheffield’s Crème Angelique Dentifrice’ for broad distribution in 1881. The product rapidly garnered national popularity and financial success. In 1892, Sheffield’s son, Dr. Lucius Tracey Sheffield, was visiting Paris, France, when he took notice of the collapsible metal tubes used by artists to dispense their paints. He thought the principle could be applied to dental products and in 1892 the Sheffield Dentifrice Company unveiled the first collapsible toothpaste tube, which represented a more convenient and sanitary option to the tubs or jars previously used for these products. The firm manufactured its own tin tubes, as well as filled, embossed, and labeled them in-house. The company even produced the boxes used to ship the product to market. Washington W. Sheffield died in 1897, however, the company he founded remained in the family. By the early 1900s it was managed by his grandsons, Washington Kyle and Lucius Tracey Sheffield, who would go on to establish the New England Collapsible Tube Company in 1911. The latter firm was associated with the Sheffield Dentifrice Company and by the 1920s was the largest producer of collapsible tubes in the United States. The combined firms began construction of a modern shared plant on Waller Street in 1911, and this was expended ca. 1920, in 1945, and ca. 1960. During the 1970s, the firm remained New London’s second largest employer with 450 hands. The Sheffield Dentifrice Company and New England Collapsible Tube Company were formally merged under the singular title of the Sheffield Pharmaceutical Company during the late-20th century. This firm continues to operate in New London and manufactures and sells both proprietary products as well as those marketed under other brands. Employment as of 2014 was over 200. See also article in August 2021 issue of Connecticut Magazine (https://www.connecticutmag.com/the-connecticut-story/a-pair-of-father-son-dentists-from-new-london-changed-dental-hygiene-forever/article_fd520654-e66d-11eb-a177-4f098c0a9584.html)

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly eight (8) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

ca. 1860, 1911, ca. 1920, ca. 1940, 1945, ca. 1960.

Architect

Leo F. Caproni (1960 addition)

Builder

F.W. Brown Company, Yantic (1960 addition)

Building Type

• Administration
• Mill
• Powerhouse
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The Sheffield Dentifrice Company/New England Collapsible Tube Company plant is comprised of eight primary adjoining and freestanding blocks located on the north side of Waller Street and south side of Broad Street, approximately 200’ west of Williams Street. The factory’s main manufacturing blocks were erected along Waller Street in four phases between 1911 and ca. 1960. The oldest manufacturing building is a four-story red brick structure with large, segmental-arched window openings, concrete sills, multi-pane metal sash with hopper-style openings, a corbelled brick cornice, and a flat roof. This was enlarged via a four-story, red brick addition adjoining its west elevation ca. 1920, thus bringing the completed block to a total size of 164’ x 60’. The façade (west elevation) details of the addition include stepped brick piers with concrete caps and a concrete beltcourse at the second-story level, rectangular window openings with concrete sills and lintels, and multi-pane metal sash with hopper-style openings. Fenestration at the western end of the block consists of segmental-arched brick openings with concrete sills and three-over-three double-hung metal sash. Like the original block, the addition has a flat roof. A pair of four-story red brick blocks were erected adjoining the east elevation of the 1911 building in 1945. These consist of a 67’ x 50’ block with frontage on Waller Street and a 40’ x 68’ rear ell extending to the north. Both buildings have concrete foundations, large rectangular window openings with concrete sills and multi-pane metal sash, and flat roofs. Several one-story red brick utility and storage buildings are located directly north of the ell and were erected concurrently. The final manufacturing building added to the plant was designed by Leo F. Caproni and erected in 1960 as a one-story addition; three upper floors were added at a later date. This is a four-story red brick structure adjoining the east elevations of the 1945 blocks. The building has an irregular footprint that measures roughly 90’ x 102’. The details are essentially identical to the 1945 additions. Additional structures of note include various one-story storage and utility blocks erected on the north side of the 1911 building ca. 1950, as well as a one-story, 42’ x 87’ corrugated metal Quonset hut likely erected north of the ca. 1920 block during the 1940s. The final notable building associated with the property is a two-and-a-half-story, wood-frame Italianate/Second Empire residence located north of the plant along Broad Street. Built ca. 1860, this was originally the home of Washington W. Sheffield yet by the 1950s was used as office space by the company. The house has a full-width porch with Tuscan columns; a widely overhanging, front-facing gable roof; and a three-story tower with a Mansard roof set with round-arched dormers. The building retains a number of its original two-over-two double-hung wood windows.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Steel
• Wood

Structural System(s)

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

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable
• Round

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• EPDM
• Metal
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Good

Condition Notes

The complex is in good condition. Most of the exterior walls of the plant are in need of cleaning and most of the windows on the north side of the plant have been boarded over, however, the facility appears structurally sound and well maintained.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (170 Broad Street) totaling 1.95-acres located on the north side of Waller Street and south side of Broad Street, approximately 200’ west of Williams Street.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• E10/ 215/ 9 building 2 / Link →

Acreage

1.95

Use (Present)

• Industrial
• Other: Sheffield Pharmaceuticals LLC

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

7/02/2015

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 London County; Baker, William A., 1854.
6. Atlas of New London County, Beers, Ellis & Soule, 1868.
7. Sanborn Map Company, 1884, 1891, 1896, 1901, 1907, 1912, 1921, 1951, 1954.
8. Picturesque New London; The American Book Exchange, 1901.
9. The Whaling City; Decker, Robert Owen, 1976.
10. ConnecticutHistory.org website.
11. Information, historic photographs and sources for Leo Caproni courtesy Gregg Bateman (2018).