Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Dow Mechanical Corp. 1953-ca. 2005
• International Casket Hardware Co. 1919-1952
• Westfield Plate Co. 1893-1919

Use (Historic)

• Clocks, Precision Equipment
• Fabricated Metal Products
• Textiles

Largest Documented Workforce

125 (1914).

Historic Narrative

Note: a National Register nomination for the site was under review in 2020 prior to the fire. The Westfield Plate Company was established ca. 1890 for the production of casket hardware. The firm originally occupied a two-story mill on the site of the present factory, however, this was destroyed by fire in August 1892. Seventy-five employees were thrown out of work and $66,000 in finished merchandise lost in the conflagration, however, the firm quickly acquired space in a nearby planing mill recently vacated by the T. Pease and Son’s Company and resumed production just two weeks later. Despite tempting offers to relocate to Springfield, Massachusetts, the Westfield Plate Company chose to remain in Enfield and soon set about erecting a new and larger plant. This was completed in 1893 and quickly reached full capacity. The Westfield Plate Company thrived by selling directly to undertakers, rather than to middlemen, and offered a broad range of products including casket hardware and linings, as well as shrouds. By 1914, the company employed 125 hands but considered leaving Enfield for Westfield, Massachusetts after the firm’s general manager, Herbert L. Vietts, revealed intentions to enter into carpet production. The company did not end up leaving, however, it soon fell upon hard times as a result of mismanagement. In 1919, the firm was acquired by the International Casket Hardware Company of Meriden, Connecticut. The latter company moved all of its activities to Enfield where it remained until it was finally closed by its parent firm, the National Casket Company, in 1952. The North River Street plant remained vacant for just over one year following the departure of the International Casket Hardware Company. In September 1953 it was purchased by the Dow Mechanical Corporation, a manufacturer of gauges and machine tools established in 1946. The firm announced one of its most novel products in 1954, the ‘Teen-o-Meter’, a governing device that could be installed to an automobile’s accelerator and set to control its maximum speed. The Dow Mechanical Corporation continued to occupy the mill until ca. 2005 when it was sold to the Town of Enfield for potential use as a commuter rail station and community hub. The building has since been conveyed to the Enfield Community Development Corporation, Inc.

Number of Existing Buildings

Two (2) adjoining blocks.

Dates of Construction

1893

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill

Architectural Description

The former Westfield Plate Company plant is comprised of two adjoining blocks located on the east side of North River Street, west side of the Hartford-Springfield rail line, and approximately 300 feet north of Main Street. The four-story mill was erected in 1893 and is of typical brick mill construction yet shows a high degree of detailing on its façade (south elevation). The building’s main block measures 35’ x 139’ and has a three-story, 35’ x 33’ red brick block abutting its north elevation. The façade is divided into three bays by full-height brick piers, these rising to a corbelled and crenellated brick cornice and a highly detailed brick parapet. The latter has a raised central bay featuring a terracotta plaque that reads ‘1893’. The mill’s primary entry is located on the west side of the south elevation and consists of a round-arched opening with a multi-pane transom. Above this there is a faded sign that reads ‘OFFICE/WESTFIELD/PLATE CO./CASKET HARDWARE and DRY GOODS’, over which later lettering reads ‘INTERNATIONAL CASKET HARDWARE CO.” Fenestration throughout the building is set in segmental-arched openings and has brick sills. The building retains a number of its original wood windows, these primarily consisting of paired six-light casement sash with a pair of two-light transoms above. A number of the windows have modern replacements or have been boarded up. A three-sided bay window with a hipped roof is located at the southern end of the west elevation. This has double-hung one-over-one wood sash. The building’s side elevations have full-height window bays delineated on each floor by recessed brick spandrels that rise to corbelled sills below each window. The red brick walls rise to a corbelled brick cornice that extends along the flat roofs. Faded lettering running along the roofline of the east elevation (that facing the rail line) reads ‘WESTFIELD PLATE CO. CASKET HARDWARE AND DRY GOODS’.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry

Roof Form

• Flat

Roof Material

• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The factory is in overall fair condition. Although the exterior walls and windows show signs of deterioration the plant appears to be structurally sound.

Specific Location

One legal parcel (33 North River St.) totaling 0.18 acres on the east side of North River Street, west side of the Hartford-Springfield rail line, and approximately 300 feet north of Main Street.

Adjacent To

• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 007/ / 0012 / Link →

Acreage

0.18

Use (Present)

• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

03/27/2015

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 Hartford County, H & C.T. Smith, 1855.
6. Atlas of Hartford County, Beers, Baker & Tilden, 1869.
7. Sanborn Map Company, 1892, 1893, 1905, 1912, 1925, 1943, 1947, 1952, 1953, 1954.
8. Hartford Courant, 1914, 1917, 1919,.
9. The Challenge of Change: Three Centuries of Enfield, Connecticut History; Bridge, Ruth, ed., 1977.
10. Enfield, Connecticut; Miller, Michael K., 1999.