Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Goodyear India Rubber Glove Company 1920-
• U.S. Rubber Company
• White and Wells Company 1897-1920

Use (Historic)

• Paper & Wood Products
• Rubber & Chemicals

Largest Documented Workforce

Unknown.

Historic Narrative

The small surviving brick factory building on Hotchkiss Street was originally home to a paper box manufacturer called the White and Wells Company. The company, established in Waterbury with a factory at 214 Bank Street, was incorporated in 1895, and built a Naugatuck factory around that time. A fire in 1902 destroyed the facility, forcing the company to take up temporary space within a Goodyear India Rubber Glove Co. building on North Water Street. The standing factory was presumably built c.1902-3. White and Wells supplied the local manufacturers of rubber goods with materials for packaging their finished products, working under renewable five year contracts. In 1920, the company and its assets were purchased by the Goodyear India Rubber Glove Co., then a division of the U.S. Rubber Co., for $150,000. The move was intended to provide more efficient and economical paper box production for U.S. Rubber Co.

Number of Existing Buildings

One (1) block.

Dates of Construction

c.1902-3

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Loft

Architectural Description

The single rectangular, three-story, brick pier building has a slight gable roof; at the southwest corner is a single-story brick structure that once housed the engine room. A storage structure built between 1904 and 1910 has since been demolished. This factory was built with electric lights, but utilized steam for power.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

• Post and Beam

Roof Form

• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Good, Fair, Deteriorated

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

Surrounded by a few empty lots, homes, and a baseball field, the former White and Wells Company paper box factory sits on 0.38 acre to the south of Hotchkiss Street.

Adjacent To

n/a

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 25-34E6 / Link →

Acreage

0.38

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Other: for sale 2/2019, 3/2022

Form Completed By

Michael Forino

Date

August 2014

Bibliography

1. Sanborn Insurance Atlases.
2. Pape, William J. History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley (New York: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1918).