Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Cooke Vacuum Products, Inc. 1971-1994
• Vanderbilt Chemical Corp. 1955-1971
• W. G. LeCounts Machine Shop 1906-ca. 1920
• W.G. LeCount Tool Shop ca. 1920-1955

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products
• Rubber & Chemicals

Largest Documented Workforce

1-9 (1939).

Historic Narrative

W.G. LeCount’s Machine Shop was established in East Norwalk, Connecticut by Norwalk resident, William G. LeCount, in 1899. LeCount erected and occupied a shop on the east side of East Avenue that same year where he manufactured machinist tools until 1906. In 1906, LeCount moved his business to Merritt Place in South Norwalk, where he continued to work until his death in 1921. Control of the business, by then known as the W.G. LeCount Tool Works, then passed to his wife, Mary J. LeCount, who ran the firm along with her son, William J. LeCount. The younger LeCount served as the shop’s manager until his mother died in 1948, whereupon he assumed sole ownership of the business. The W.G. LeCount Tool Works remained in operation until William J. LeCount retired in 1955. After the closure of the W.G. LeCount Tool Works, the Merritt Place shop was acquired by the R.T. Vanderbilt Company, a chemical manufacturing and research firm organized in 1916 by Robert T. Vanderbilt, a resident of New York, New York. R.T. Vanderbilt’s main offices were located at 230 Park Avenue in New York, however, the company established research and manufacturing facilities on Winfield Street in Norwalk during the 1920s. The Vanderbilt Chemical Corporation division of the R.T. Vanderbilt Company acquired several additional facilities throughout Norwalk during the 1950s, among these being the W.G. LeCount Tool Works shop on Merritt Place, and the former E.H. Hotchkiss Company plant on Hoyt Street. The R.T. Vanderbilt Company occupied the Merritt Place facility until 1971. It was then acquired by Cooke Vacuum Products, Inc., a manufacturer of high capacity vacuum and electrical systems used in research and industrial applications. Cooke Vacuum Products was formed in 1965 by the then mayor of Norwalk, Frank J. Cooke, after another of his ventures, F.J. Cook, Inc., filed for bankruptcy. The directors and officers of the new business read like a laundry list of Norwalk politicians and included Maurice W. San Souci, Norwalk’s police commissioner; Alfred Santaniello, Probate Judge; Jesse L. Strassberger, Corporation Counsel; Robert A. Katz, a lawyer in the firm of David Katz and Son which played a prominent role in Norwalk redevelopment efforts; and John F. Lyons, another lawyer and prominent Republican party leader. Cooke Vacuum Products, Inc. remains in business, however, the firm moved from Merritt Place to a new plant at 46 Chestnut Street in Norwalk in 1994.

Number of Existing Buildings

One (1) primary block.

Dates of Construction

1906.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

W.G. LeCount’s Machine Shop consists of one primary block located on the north side of Merritt Place, roughly 200’ west of Merritt Place’s intersection with Chestnut Street. The building was erected in 1906 and is a one-story, 80’ x 50’ concrete block structure with concrete piers, rectangular window openings, concrete window sills, fixed multipane windows, and a flat roof. A large clerestory monitor dominates the roof. This has ten fixed three-light windows, vinyl siding, and a low-pitch shed roof. Four of the bays on the five-bay façade (south elevation) are filled with full-width, nearly full-height windows, while the fifth bay has two smaller window openings with fixed multipane sash. The primary entrance to the plant is located on the west (side) elevation and consists of a plain metal door set in a concrete frame.

Exterior Material(s)

• Concrete
• Concrete Block

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Clerestory Monitor
• Flat
• Monitor

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The plant is in fair condition. Although the clerestory monitor has non-original vinyl siding, the building appears to be well maintained and structurally sound.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (13 Merritt Place) totaling 0.34 acres located on the north side of Merritt Place, roughly 200’ west of Merritt Place’s intersection with Chestnut Street.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 2/77/7/0. / Link →

Acreage

0.34

Use (Present)

• Industrial

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

11/06/2015

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 Haven County; Clark, Richard, 1859.
6. Atlas of New Haven County, Beers, Ellis & Soule, 1868.
7. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1951, 1965, 1970, 1985.
8. Sanborn Map Company, 1891, 1896, 1901, 1906, 1922, 1950, 1958.
9. Norwalk Directory; Various editions.
10. New York Times, 1965.
11. Norwalk; Grant, Lisa Wilson, 2014.