Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Whitney Arms Co.
• Heany Industrial Ceramic Corp. c.1950

Use (Historic)

• Firearms, Weapons, Explosives

Largest Documented Workforce

n/a

Historic Narrative

For description see National Register application: http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/74002049.pdf Later occupied by Heany Industrial Ceramic Corp.

Number of Existing Buildings

two

Dates of Construction

c.1805, c.1890

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

Relatively little fabric remains to provide detailed data on the manufacturing conducted here. Portions of a coal storage shed date to c.1805. A brick manufacturing building from the mid-19th century still stands; 1-story and about 110' x 45', it has a monitor roof and segmentally arched windows with stone sills. A barn and a single men's boarding house also survive. The present dam, a masonry gravity dam about 30' high, was built in 1860-61. The dam provided power to Whitney Arms Co. and drinking water which the New Haven Water Co. supplied to the city. A New Haven Water Co. 1-story brick pump house stands west of the factory site. [A] Town lattice truss bridge has been reconstructed here. (Roth)

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick

Structural System(s)

n/a

Roof Form

• Gable
• Monitor

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

• Water (Turbine)

Condition

n/a

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

East side of Whitney Avenue,opposite Armory Street

Adjacent To

• Water (for Power)

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 2129-005-00-0000 (for record, use link and type in address or parcel number) / Link →

Acreage

2.24

Use (Present)

• Other: Museum

Form Completed By

n/a

Date

n/a

Bibliography

1. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).