Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Waterbury Buckle Co. ca. 1915-1988
• Waterbury Buckle Co. - ITW Waterbury Buckle Plastiglide Companies 1988-2012

Use (Historic)

• Consumer Products, Small Appliances
• Fabricated Metal Products

Largest Documented Workforce

500 (1937).

Historic Narrative

The Waterbury Buckle Company was organized in Waterbury, Connecticut in 1853. The firm occupied its location nestled between South Main Street and the Mad River immediately south of Washington Street from the time of its inception until its closure in 2012. For much of its early history the firm was managed by Earl A. Smith, a prominent Waterbury industrialist who joined the company as its secretary and treasurer in 1865 and who served as its president from 1898 until his death in 1906. The Waterbury Buckle Company specialized in the manufacture of small metal notions including buckles, clasps, and slides. These were fabricated in brass, as well as a range of other metals. By 1918, the Waterbury Buckle Company employed 400 hands, many of these being skilled metalworkers and machinists. This number rose to over 500 during the mid-1930s and government contracts for various buckles and other clasps and small hardware helped keep the company afloat through the mid-19th century, however employment had dropped to about 200 by the 1980s. The firm was acquired by Illinois Tool Works, Inc. of Glenville, Illinois, in 1988, which cut the workforce in half in 1991. The business operated as ITW Waterbury Buckle from 1988 until the parent company closed the Waterbury plant in 2012. The facility presently stands vacant.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly eight (8) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

ca. 1915, ca. 1930, ca. 1940, ca. 1965.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Administration
• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Waterbury Buckle Company plant consists of roughly eight adjoining red brick blocks located on the west side of South Main Street, at the southwest corner of South Main Street’s intersection with Washington Street. The oldest surviving block dates from ca. 1915 and is situated on the western side of the complex along the Mad River. The building is a four-story, roughly 66’ x 124’ red brick block with segmental-arched window openings, stone window sills, and a flat roof with two sawtooth monitors. A nearly identical four-story, 56’ x 80’ addition was erected adjoining the block’s south elevation ca. 1930, making it the plant’s second oldest block. Two further two-story red brick additions, these located at the southern end of the plant were built ca. 1940, while the remainder of the facility replaced a number of earlier blocks around 1965. The ca. 1965 blocks extend south from Washington Street along South Main Street. The majority of the modern additions have red brick walls with narrow windows extending along their rooflines. The façade of the ca. 1940 block at the southern end of the east elevation has been refaced with a dark red brick interrupted by paired full-height window openings that are framed with concrete trim. The main entry to the plant is located at the southern end of the façade and consists of paired metal and glass doors framed with a concrete surround. Metal lettering above the entrance reads, ‘WATERBURY BUCKLE / AN ITW COMPANY.’

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Concrete

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Structural Steel or Iron

Roof Form

• Flat
• Sawtooth

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• EPDM
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Steam

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The plant is in fair condition. The majority of the window openings in the pre-ca. 1965 blocks have been partially infilled and smaller windows installed in the reduced openings.

Specific Location

One 5.42-acre parcel (952 South Main Street) located on the west side of South Main Street, at the southwest corner of South Main Street’s intersection with Washington Street.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 0392-0300-0001 / Link →

Acreage

n/a

Use (Present)

• Other: 8/2023 property for sale. According to broker, "significant" environmental remediation has been done. 142k sq ft. Building has been secured since closing in 2012 and so in good shape.
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas Karmazinas

Date

11/17/2016

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. Sanborn Map Company, 1884, 1900, 1924, 1962.
6. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1951, 1965, 1970, 1985.
7. Waterbury City Directories, Price & Lee Co., 1890-1960.
8. History of Waterbury; Pape, William Jamieson, 1918.
9. Hartford Courant, 1937, 1991.