Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Clinton Agricultural Works c.1830
• George S. Vibbert & Co. 1875
• Clintonville Card & Novelty Co.

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products
• Paper & Wood Products

Largest Documented Workforce

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Historic Narrative

Originally built in 1831, the factory was powered by the adjacent Muddy River. Greeting cards were made here from 1870 to 1890. The property was used as a post office branch in the 20th c. It was converted to condominiums in 2004, although only the brick facade remained and another building was added. Information courtesy North Haven Historical Society website: Clintonville, in 1870 to 1890s, was known as the home of greeting cards. These “all-occasion” friendship cards were progenitors of today’s greeting cards and the predecessors of Christmas cards. The cards were sentimental greetings that were appropriate any time of the year. As early as the 1870s, the Clintonville area housed several handmade greeting card companies. Many of the businesses involved David Clinton’s second generation offspring. David Clinton’s son Lyman Clinton had six children; three sons; Anson Blakeslee, Frederick Lyman, David Lawrence; and three daughters; Margaret, Delia, and Josephine. In 1872, Frederick Lyman (grandson of David Clinton) was considered the pioneer printer. He started his printing company in the red wooden building on the west side of Rimmon Road with printing presses he made at the agricultural tool factory. The most widely known printer was George S. Vibbert. In 1875 he started the George S. Vibbert’s Clintonville Card and Novelty Company in the Kickapoo building next to the Airline Railroad station. The business was moved to the factory in 1888. The company produced all occasion greeting cards, advertising calling cards, wedding cards, Bristol cards. Many of these cards had fancy edge treatments such as beveled or embossed edges or with fringe attached. These so called “scrap” cards were made with fancy fringe imported from Germany. Vibbert also produced letterheads, school reports, booklets, and “Wayside Gleanings”, his personal weekly flyer. G.S. Vibbert also employed many women from the neighborhood, those that traveled daily from Montowese, some via the Airline rail line, and also imported workers from Germany for the detailed work. Vibbert also encouraged the women to start their own cottage industry by performing the card decoration at home. The 1880 census listed eight printers in North Haven, some of which were: G.S. Vibbert & Co.’s Clintonville Card and Novelty Company Tuttle Brothers Printing Company North Haven Card Co. Fowler Printing Co. Many of the printing shops advertised in national publications. The mail order business encompassed a national and some international markets. The Clintonville area became nationally known as the “Valentine Capital of New England”.

Number of Existing Buildings

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Dates of Construction

1831

Architect

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Builder

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Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

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Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

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Roof Form

• Gable

Roof Material

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Power Source

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Condition

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Condition Notes

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Specific Location

South side of Old Clintonville Rd between the Muddy River to the west and Rimmon Rd to the east, approximately 500 ft south of route 22.

Adjacent To

• Water (for Power)

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 070 010 / Link →

Acreage

n/a

Use (Present)

• Residential

Form Completed By

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Date

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Bibliography

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