Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• T and S Perfection Chain Products Inc. 2013-
• Turner and Seymour Mfg. Co. 1893-2013

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products

Largest Documented Workforce

250 (1897)

Historic Narrative

Waterbury Hook and Eye Company began in Waterbury in 1849, under a partnership that included Elisha Turner (b.1822) and, later, Lyman Coe (Coe Brass). The firm moved to Torrington (at the corner of Main and Water Streets) in 1864 when it was reorganized as Turner and Clark; in 1866 it merged with Seymour Manufacturing to become Turner and Seymour Manufacturing Co. The company produced a wide array of metal products such as upholstery hardware, castings, hooks and eyes, pins, nails, chains, handles and even automated posted machines as early as the 1890s. The firm outgrew the factory space it occupied, purchasing land at the end of Lawton Street in 1892 for a new facility. In 1922, the company was sold to an industrialist from Bridgeport and Stamford, but it retained its name and many of its original products. The company grew quickly after World War I; having received substantial government contracts. Growth continued in the 1950s through 1970s with the acquisition of other companies. In 1974, Turner and Seymour acquired Byron Chain Manufacturing Co. of Scheller Park, Illinois, after which its product line ranged from furniture hardware to chain production. Purchased in 2013 by Perfection Chain and renamed T and S Perfection Chain Products Inc., it claims to be the largest producer of weldless chain in North America, and employs about 50 at the Torrington facility.

Number of Existing Buildings

Five (5) primary blocks plus infill and additions.

Dates of Construction

1893-1960

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Loft
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The oldest structures were built c.1893 to 1910 at the west end of Lawton Street. The largest is a three-story, brick loft building, approximately 270' by 40', parallel to the railroad tracks, possibly built in three stages. Connected perpendicularly to the north is a two-story, brick loft building measuring approximately 150' by 40', and to the south is a two-story, brick production shed with a monitor roof measuring approximately 130' by 50'. Adjoining the production shed to the north is another square building with a monitor roof. There are also several infill structures, as well as three c.1960 large rectangular buildings at the north end of the complex. To the south there was another large section of the older complex, but only one building from the 1920s survives. It is a one story U-shaped production shed. To the southeast is a free standing series of three, one-story buildings built between 1940 and 1960. Total square feet approx. 130,000

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Post and Beam

Roof Form

• Gable
• Monitor

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• Metal

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Good, Fair, Deteriorated

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

One 5.66 acre parcel north of Lincoln Avenue on the west side of South Main Street at the southwest end of Lawton Street on either side of Gulf Stream.

Adjacent To

• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 115/012/010 / Link →

Acreage

5.66

Use (Present)

• Industrial
• Other: Duc Duc children's furniture mfr signed long term lease in 2014 for 64,000 sq ft. New owner 2017, some renovations.
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Mike Forino

Date

August 2014

Bibliography

1. 1947 Industrial Directory of Connecticut.
2. The Hartford Courant, 1892-1977.
3. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1884-1924.
4. The Town and City of Waterbury CT, volume 2, Joseph Anderson (New Haven: 1896).
5. The Torrington Register Souvenir Edition (Torrington CT: Register Printing Co., 1897).