Mill Record Waterbury

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Disclaimer: Content for these properties was compiled in 2014-2017 from a variety of sources and is subject to change. Updates are occasionally made under Property Information, however the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation (dba Preservation Connecticut) makes no representation or warranty that the information is complete or up-to-date.

Complex Name (Common)
Waterbury Clock Co. (Case Factory)
Complex Name (Historic)
  • Waterbury Clock Co. (Case Factory)
Address or Location
196 Mill Street, Waterbury
County
New Haven
Historic Designation
Associated Mill Community
n/a
Historic Information

Companies Associated w/Complex

  • Bercliff Undergarment Corp. c.1950
  • Waterbury Clock Co. (Case) c.1890- c.1942
  • Watertown Undergarment Co. c.1980s

Use (Historic)

Largest Documented Workforce

3,000 all locations (1917)

Historic Narrative

NOTE: DETERMINED ELIGIBLE FOR NR LISTING IN 2023 BY SHPO. The Mill Street site has been occupied since at least the mid-19th century: Abbott and Wardwell Manufacturing Co., incorporated in 1850, and succeeded by the Cotton Gin Manufacturing Co., established in 1853, made cotton gins for North Carolina and Florida. By around 1864, the Waterbury Clock Company had purchased the property. Originally a department of the Benedict and Burnham Company, one of the city’s largest brass manufacturers, the Waterbury Clock Company was incorporated in 1857. It operated out of the Benedict and Burnham factory until the move to Mill Street in 1864. Operations comprised both a movement shop and a case shop. In 1870, the company produced some 96,000 clock movements and 85,000 cases. As business grew, the movement shop relocated to a factory on North Elm Street in 1873 (and enlarged it over the years); the case shop remained on Mill Street. Clock cases were made in a wide variety of materials, itemized in 1896 as marble, onyx, enameled iron, nickel, ebony, mahogany, oak, walnut, ash, cherry and plush. The entire company grew rapidly: with 142 workers in 1870, by 1887 there were 300, and 700 less than a decade later. Salesrooms were established in New York, Chicago, Glasgow, Scotland and San Francisco. Between 1900 and 1910, the company built eleven new brick buildings, including the current buildings on this Mill Street site, to accommodate their increased need for capacity. By 1907, Waterbury Clock Company was considered the world’s largest clock manufacturer. In 1917, the company was making 700 styles of clocks, watches, and special features of timepieces, producing 23,000 items daily and employing over 3,000 people. The Waterbury Clock Company was in decline by 1931, as it had not reinvested profits in the buildings or machinery, which now had to keep up with the trend of electric clock making. In 1932, the company was reorganized as the Ingersoll-Waterbury Company, adding a line of electric clocks and the popular Disney inspired character clocks and watches; Mickey Mouse watches were produced in the c.1940 building. In 1942, a new factory was built in Middlebury to meet the US military’s demand for timing fuses in World War II. At about this time, Waterbury Clock Co. vacated the Mill Street factory. It became the United States Time Corporation in 1944, and later, in 1969, simply Timex. A knitwear manufacturer occupied the buildings in the 1980s. In 2016, the building was partly utilized by Reiner Products, Ltd., a company that manufactures and sells glass and crystal salt and pepper shakers; Truline Corporation, a trucking company; M and M Tool Company, a manufacturer of industrial and commercial machinery; and as storage for the Furniture Factory Outlet. Note: 3/2023 SHPO determined the case factory to be eligible for individual NR listing.

Architectural Information

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly seven (7) blocks.

Dates of Construction

c.1905, 1914 (and c.1940)

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

Architectural Description

The mid-19th century buildings of the complex were demolished c.1905 and replaced with this 5-story brick factory, approx. 370' x 40' with a 1914 block along Pond Street, approx. 168' x 50’. All sections have near-flat roofs, segmentally arched windows with stone sills, and granite foundations. Belt coursing runs between the second story and third story levels, and cornices feature corbeled brickwork in dentil patterns. The former one-story kiln, drying room and power house with stack are centrally located on the west side of the main block. The one-story block at the corner of Franklin and McMahon Streets was built between 1922 and 1950 and used for paper storage by Bercliff Undergarment Co.

Exterior Material(s)

Structural System(s)

Roof Form

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

Condition

Excellent, Good

Condition Notes

n/a

Property Information

Specific Location

One 2.31 acre parcel between Franklin Street to the west, Pond Street to the south and Mill Street to the east.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

Acreage

2.31

Use (Present)

  • Commercial
  • Other: 3/2023 SHPO determined the case factory to be eligible for individual NR listing in advance of proposed rehab. 6/2023 DECD awarded $160,000 grant to conduct a site investigation on two sites at 194 and 196 Mill Street totaling 2.46 acres to determine the type and extent of contaminants there.
  • Vacant
Sources

Form Completed By

Jordan Sorensen

Date

December 2016

Bibliography

  1. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).
  2. The Iron Age, vol.93, nbr.4 (New York: David Williams Co., 1914), p.289.
  3. Anderson, Joseph, ed. The Town and City of Waterbury, Connecticut, Vol. 2 (New Haven: The Price & Lee Co., 1896).
  4. Pape, William Jamieson. History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Vol. 1 (New York: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1918).
  5. Community and Preservation Planning Consultants,National Register Nomination Form for Waterbury Clock Company, The Movement Shop Complex (1981).
  6. Sanborn Insurance Atlases.
Representative View(s)Click on image to view full file



Photographer

n/a

Photography Date

December 2016