Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Glazier and Sons Manufacturing Co. c.1870-1933
• Hopewell Manufacturing Co. 1936-1956
• J.T. Slocomb Co. 1956-c.1990
• Mowry Finishing and Dyeing Co. 1936-1956
• Naog Manufacturing Co. 1848-c.1870

Use (Historic)

• Clocks, Precision Equipment
• Textiles

Largest Documented Workforce

Unknown

Historic Narrative

Glastonbury, Connecticut never materialized into an industrialized city like its neighbors, however, the area surrounding the Roaring Brook did see the growth of several large industrial operations. In 1836, Amos and Sprowell Dean built a mill on property near the Roaring Brook, purchased from a farmer named Charles Shipman. By 1837, the mill was producing wool products, primarily satinet: an inexpensive, partially recycled material used predominately in male trousers. In 1848, the Deans sold a large interest in their mill to several local Glastonbury men to form the joint stock entity called the Naog Manufacturing Company. In 1861, two of the firm's principle owners, Martin Hollister and Franklin Glazier bought out the rest of the stockholders, and in 1870, the latter became the sole proprietor of the operation. As Franklin Glazier and Sons Manufacturing Company, operations increased exponentially. With production up to nearly 500,000 yards of finished wool per year, and new products added continually (including “Kentucky Jeans”), Glazier made many substantial building expansions and updated the plant from water wheel to turbine power. Throughout the nineteenth century, the company expanded its production line, and added uniforms and automotive clothing in the early twentieth century. It became known as the Glazier Manufacturing Company in 1909. A victim of the Great Depression, the mill was sold in 1933 to the Brookside Woolen mill, but that operation lasted only three years until being sold again to the Hopewell Manufacturing Company of New York. Hopewell operated as a textile mill under the name Mowry Finishing and Dyeing Company, closing after the Second World War. The buildings were acquired by the J. T. Slocomb Company in 1956; Slocomb produced micrometers (a measuring and calibrating device) at the site until the late 1990s.

Number of Existing Buildings

ruins

Dates of Construction

n/a

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

n/a

Architectural Description

The buildings were demolished in 2012, and only ruins of the basement of the original 1836 (1892 addition) mill remain. Detached and to the east stands a brick smokestack built before 1877. These ruins have been included in this survey because the town (as of 07/2014) wished to keep, stabilize, and reuse the ruins as some type of open public space.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Stone

Structural System(s)

n/a

Roof Form

n/a

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

n/a

Condition

Deteriorated

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

The former mill complex of the Glazier Manufacturing Company is located south of Hopewell Road, east of Matson Hill Road and west of the Roaring Brook in Glastonbury, Connecticut.

Adjacent To

• Water (for Power)

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 11669 (for record, use link and type in address or parcel number) / Link →

Acreage

22.22

Use (Present)

• Abandoned
• Other: Park

Form Completed By

Michael Forino

Date

n/a

Bibliography

1. Sanborn Insurance Atlases.
2. Chiffer, Brian. 'History of the Slocum Site,' The Historical Society of Glastonbury (n.d.). Web; accessed August 2014.