Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Avery Green Dairy 1970-ca. 1985
• Peterson Farms, Inc. 1969-1970
• Torrington Creamery 1901-1927
• Torrington Creamery, Inc. 1927-1969
• Wilcox Creamery 1884-1901

Use (Historic)

• Food, Beverage, Tobacco

Largest Documented Workforce

25-50 (1939)

Historic Narrative

The former Torrington Creamery was originally established as the Wilcox Dairy in 1884. In 1901, the business was purchased by George Weigold, proprietor of Weigold and Co., a milk and cream dealer located at 136 South Main Street and run in partnership with B.W. Crissey and Sherman H. Patterson. Under Weigold the Torrington Creamery manufactured ice cream and butter as well as served as a milk and cream dealer. Wigold operated the company until 1916, whereupon his son Arthur assumed management of the firm. Under Arthur G. Weigold the Torrington Creamery grew into one of the most prominent dairy and ice cream plants in New England. The company holds the distinction of being the first creamery in the United States to homogenize milk for commercial sale, this taking place in 1919, and throughout the 1920s and 1930s the plant employed between 25 and 50 employees in order to keep up with demand. The firm was incorporated and its capital increased in 1927, a period around which new office and warehouse buildings were erected on both sides of Riverside Avenue. Expansion continued during the following decade, this including construction of a new 10-bay garage and auto repair shop located to the southeast of the main plant. The Torrington Creamery expanded further during the 1960s. A new dairy store was built on the north side of Riverside Avenue around 1963, and its distribution plant, also on the north side of Riverside Avenue, was enlarged between 1965 and 1969. In 1969 Arthur W. Weigold, the third generation of the family to run the business, sold control of the Torrington Creamery to another dairy, Peterson Farms, Inc., yet stayed on as company president and general manager. One year later the creamery was again sold, this time to the Avery Green Dairy of New Britain, Connecticut, forerunner to the Guida’s Dairy Company. Avery Green Dairy maintained the Riverside Avenue plant during the 1970s, however, by the mid-1980s it had been vacated and reoccupied by a variety of tenants. Today these include a metal fabricating shop by the name of Jeff Manufacturing, Inc., and the George Yarocki Co., a restorer of Scout model Indian Motorcycles.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly ten (10) blocks.

Dates of Construction

Late-19th c., ca. 1901, ca. 1930, ca. 1940, ca. 1963, 1969.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Torrington Creamery plant consists of approximately ten buildings/blocks flanking Riverside Avenue roughly 0.3 mile south of its intersection with Migeon Avenue (Rte. 4) and Norfolk Road. The original creamery likely occupied three frame structures erected on the south side of Riverside Avenue during the late-19th century. These include a 90’ x 18’ one-story building with stone foundation and side-gabled roof; a 30’ x 80’ one-story building with exposed basement level (this abutting Riverside Avenue), stone foundation walls, aluminum siding, and side-gabled roof; and a 25’ x 36’ two-story horse barn with stone foundation, gable roof, and clerestory monitor. A two-story brick and frame building with a flat roof was built between and connecting the first two of the three aforementioned structures, this likely around 1901. The 40’ x 32’ addition can be accessed from both Riverside Avenue at its lower level, and from the hill on the south side of the building, which leads to the second floor. A further addition to the plant was completed ca. 1930. This is a three-story, Art Deco-influenced brick block with concrete accents, steel frame hopper windows, and a flat roof. The building is characterized by its prominent full-story brick piers, these decorated with concrete diamonds embossed in a first-story watertable and set in its brick parapet. Further notable buildings associated with the former Torrington Creamery include a 34’ x 25’, one-story red brick warehouse built on the north side of Riverside Avenue around 1930; a 140’ x 36’, one-story concrete block garage and repair shop erected southeast of the main plant ca. 1940; and a 46’ x 22’, one-story red brick retail building constructed north of Riverside Avenue around 1963. Both the warehouse and garage were later expanded, the former in 1969, and the latter at some point during second half of the 20th century.

Exterior Material(s)

• Aluminum Siding or Paneling
• Brick
• Wood

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable
• Monitor

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The complex is in overall fair condition. The building appears to be structurally sound, however, some deterioration and staining is visible along the exterior walls and a number of the wood and steel window sashes are rusty.

Specific Location

Five legal parcels (Torrington Assessor’s ID #12355 (no associated address), #11510 (643 Riverside Ave.), #521 (668 Riverside Ave.), #12354 (669 Riverside Ave.), and #12358 (679 Riverside Ave.), totaling 4.21-acres flanking Riverside Avenue roughly 0.3 mile south of its intersection with Migeon Avenue (Rte. 4) and Norfolk Road.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 221/003/029 / Link →
• 221/003/026 / Link →
• 222/005/001 / Link →
• 221/003/025 / Link →
• 221/003/024 / Link →

Acreage

4.21 total

Use (Present)

• Industrial
• Residential
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

12/22/2014

Bibliography

1. List of Connecticut Manufacturers, 1922, 1924, 1930, 1932.
2. Directory of Connecticut State Manufacturers, 1936, 1939.
3. Atlas of Litchfield County, F.W. Beers & Co., 1874.
4. Industrial Directory of Connecticut, 1947.
5. Register of War Production Facilities in Connecticut, 1951.
6. Sanborn Map Company, 1884, 1891, 1901, 1909, 1915, 1924, 1931, 1949.
7. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1965.
8. The Hartford Courant, 1962, 1963, 1969, 1972.
9. The History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, 1918.
10. Torrington Register Souvenir Edition, 1897.