Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Atlantic Packaging Corp. ca.1980s-2016
• Atlantic Carton Co. 1919-ca.1980s
• Shetucket Co. ca. 1840-ca.1924
• Thames Textile Co. ca. 1930s

Use (Historic)

• Paper & Wood Products
• Textiles

Largest Documented Workforce

500 (1889)

Historic Narrative

The industrial village of Greeneville sprung up alongside the Shetucket River after William Greene and associates established the Norwich Water Company in order to build a dam and harness the power of the river in 1828. Greene dug a canal along the river’s western bank and subdivided the resultant island formed on the east side of the canal into parcels that were sold or leased to manufacturing firms. He also laid a grid-like pattern of streets on the land to the west, where a residential district developed as factories were built on the island. By the 1840s, these included three significant plants, from north to south including the Norwich Bleaching and Calendaring Company, a textile finishing firm; the Chelsea Manufacturing Company, a paper mill; and the Shetucket Company, a cotton goods manufacturer. The Shetucket Company was the first of the aforementioned companies to be established, with its main mill having been erected ca. 1840. The company was originally organized by William Green for the production of cotton cloth and the firm met with immediate success. The plant was expanded over the course of the 1850s and 1860s, and by the 1870s consisted of more than half-a-dozen blocks covering the southern half of the island. By the late 1880s, the company employed over 500 workers and turned out over six million yards of cloth per anum. The firm also owned a considerable number of rental tenements throughout Greeneville, where a significant concentration of its workers resided. The Shetucket Company weathered early challenges presented to New England’s textile mills by Southern producers and managed to remain in business into the 1920s. The loss of military contracts in the post-WWI period, however, doomed the business and the plant was acquired by the Atlantic Carton Company, a paper box manufacturer, in 1924. The Atlantic Carton Company was organized in 1917 by Walter E. Turner, president, and Albert M. VanWagenen, treasurer and general manager. The firm was established for the production of folding paper and paperboard products and initially specialized in the manufacture of grease- and moisture-proof packaging. The company began production in the former Norwich Utilities building yet moved into space leased from the struggling Shetucket Company in 1919. In 1924, after the closure of the Shetucket Company, the Atlantic Carton Company purchased the North Main Street plant and by the 1930s had expanded production to a total of over 500 million cartons per year. The company leased some of the space in its plant to the Thames Textile Company, a manufacturer of drapery textiles, during the 1930s, yet significant expanded its operations throughout its sprawling complex during the late 1940s after purchasing the National Pairpoint Company of New Bedford, Massachusetts. The Atlantic Carton Company continues to occupy the Norwich plant to the present day.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly twelve (12) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

ca. 1840, 1853, ca. 1860, ca. 1870, ca. 1900, 1915, ca. 1930, 1954, late-20th c.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Mill
• Powerhouse
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Shetucket Company plant is comprised of approximately twelve primary adjoining and freestanding blocks located at the eastern terminus of 2nd Street and along the west bank of the Shetucket River. The complex flanks the former Norwich Water Company Canal and extends to the southern end of the island formed by the canal. The oldest section of the complex is a four-and-a-half-story, 170’ x 45’ red brick manufacturing building erected ca. 1840. This is located at the core of the plant and has round masonry anchors, rectangular window openings with stone sills, a raking cornice formed by diagonally-cut horizontal bricks, and a side-gabled roof interrupted by cross-gables on its west and east (front and rear) elevations. A four-story stair tower is centered on the building’s west elevation. A two-story, 187’ x 43’ red brick manufacturing block erected ca. 1860 is located immediately northwest of the ca. 1840 building. This has a stone foundation that also serves as part of the eastern wall of the canal. The building has segmental-arched window openings with stone sills, and a widely-overhanging parched roof. Its northern elevation abuts a two-story, 148’ x 94’ red brick manufacturing block built ca. 1900. This is of similar detailing to the ca. 1860 block and its foundation is likewise comprised of the canal’s eastern bulkhead. Four additional two-story, red brick manufacturing blocks are located to the south of the ca. 1840 building. These were erected in 1854, ca. 1860, ca. 1870, and 1915, and measure 94’ x 32’, 136’ x 32’, 64’ x 108’, and 92’ x 361’, respectively. A fifth block adjoining the southern end of the 1915 block was built during the late-20th century and measures 130’ x 111’. The buildings erected during the 19th century have segmental-arched window openings with stone sills and pitched roofs, while the 1915 block has segmental-arched window openings with concrete sills and a flat roof. The modern structure lacks any window openings and has a flat roof. A final notable structure associated with the complex is the plant’s office, which is located along North Main Street. This was erected ca. 1860 and is a two-story, 53’ x 108’ red brick block with rectangular window openings, stone sills, and a low-pitched front-facing gable roof. A highly-detailed cast stone door surround with recessed entry is centered on the façade (west elevation) and is flanked by large window openings with splayed cast stone lintels. A one-story ell, this likewise built ca. 1860, adjoins the office’s north elevation.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• EPDM
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam
• Water (Turbine)
• Water (Wheel)

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The factory is in overall fair condition. Although some of the exterior walls are in need of repairs or repointing and most of the original windows have been replaced or infilled, the majority of the facility appears structurally sound and reasonably well maintained.

Specific Location

Two legal parcels (385 and 387R North Main Street) totaling 6.0-acres at the eastern terminus of 2nd Street and along the west bank of the Shetucket River.

Located in Greeneville Historic District (2005).
http://npgallery.nps.gov/nrhp/GetAsset?assetID=ae0eecec-2121-4766-ab14-23fc894a25b3
(Shed, 1999 NOT CONTRIBUTING)

Adjacent To

• Water (for Power)
• Main Roads
• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 94/3/16 / Link →
• 95/1/2. / Link →

Acreage

6.0

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Other: Sold at auction 6/2017 to Evan Blum (owner of Demolition Depot and the Comstock Cheney factory in Ivoryton).
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

06/24/2015

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. Birdseye View of Norwich, Connecticut; Vogt, C.H., 1876.
8. Aero View of Norwich, Connecticut; Hughes and Bailey, 1912.
9. Sanborn Map Company, 1885, 1892, 1897, 1903, 1909, 1914, 1926, 1949.
10. Hartford Courant, 1916, 1918, 1930, 1947.
11. Norwich, Connecticut; Norwich Board of Trade, 1888.
12. Norwich, The Rose of New England; Norwich Evening Record, 1894.
13. Norwich, Century of Growth; Society of the Founders of Norwich, CT, 1978.
14. Norwich; Plummer, Dale, 2003.
15. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).