Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Farmington Farms, Inc. ca. 1940s
• Farmington Grain Co. 1931-ca. 1936
• Winchell Smith, Inc. 1924-1931

Use (Historic)

• Food, Beverage, Tobacco

Largest Documented Workforce

Unknown.

Historic Narrative

Winchell Smith, Incorporated was organized in Farmington, Connecticut in 1923. The business was founded by Winchell Smith, the playwright perhaps best known for his most successful productions, Brewster’s Millions (1906) and Lightnin’ (1918). Smith was born in Hartford, Connecticut and graduated from Hartford High School. He was the nephew of William Gillette, the actor, playwright, and stage manager famous for his stage portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, in whose company Smith began his acting career. After achieving both critical acclaim and financial success during the 1910s, Smith went into semi-retirement in 1920. He took up residence in Farmington, Connecticut, where he had built a mansion, Millstream, in 1917, and pursued the peculiar hobby of grain milling. Inspired by the then popular whole foods movement, Smith purchased an early 18th-century flour mill located along the Farmington River and began milling whole grain wheat, rye, and buckwheat that was sold to Hartford bakeries. Smith also convinced filmmaker D.W. Griffith to shoot Way Down East (1920), starring Lillian Gish, at the site of the mill. Smith organized Winchell Smith, Incorporated in 1923 in order to expand his milling operations, as well as with the future intention of building several theaters and entering the film production business. Most significant to the former was Smith’s decision to erect a $100,000 flour mill and grain elevator along Farmington Avenue near the rail line operated by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. This was completed in 1924, and was operated by Smith until his business folded in 1931. The building was in turn leased to the Farmington Grain Company, which used it for grain and feed processing and storage until around 1936. By 1940, the property had been occupied by Farmington Farms, Incorporated, a poultry breeder. It is unclear how long this use persisted. The building has since been acquired for use as an automobile parts storage facility.

Number of Existing Buildings

Roughly four (4) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

1924, ca. 1950, ca. 1980.

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The former Winchell Smith, Incorporated grain mill and elevator consists of roughly four adjoining and freestanding primary buildings located on the south side of Farmington Avenue, roughly 575’ southeast of Farmington Avenue’s intersection with Wannowmassa Lane and along the east side of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. The two original blocks were built in 1924. They consist of the main four-story mill and a one-story storage building. The main mill is of reinforced concrete construction and measures 144’ x 54’. It has a concrete foundation, concrete piers, bay-wide window openings with concrete sills and multipane metal windows with awning-style sash, a crenellated concrete parapet with concrete coping, and a flat roof. A tiered three-story tower of similar styling is located at the building’s southeast corner, and a two-story, reinforced concrete bridge supports a railroad siding that leads along the south (rear) elevation of the main block. A 110’ x 22’ metal-frame block adjoining the main mill’s south elevation shelters the eastern end of the railroad siding. It was built ca. 1950 and has corrugated metal siding, multipane pivot-story windows, and a side-gabled roof with corrugated metal sheathing. A two-story, 80’ x 60’ concrete block addition with a flat roof was erected adjoining the main mill’s east elevation ca. 1980. The storage block stands roughly 36’ north of the main mill. The storage building is a wood-frame structure with a concrete foundation, both vertical board and corrugated metal siding, small rectangular window openings with six-pane pivot-style sash, and a side-gabled roof with corrugated metal sheathing.

Exterior Material(s)

• Concrete
• Steel
• Wood

Structural System(s)

• Load Bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof Form

• Flat
• Gable

Roof Material

• Asphalt
• Tar and Gravel

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

The plant is in fair condition. The majority of the original windows have been retained and the various blocks appear structurally sound.

Specific Location

One 2.88-acre parcel (1371 Farmington Ave.) located on the south side of Farmington Avenue, roughly 575’ southeast of Farmington Avenue’s intersection with Wannowmassa Lane and along the east side of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail.

Adjacent To

• Main Roads
• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• #06351371. / Link →

Acreage

2.88

Use (Present)

• Commercial
• Other: 3/2022: to be rehabbed for residential/commercial use, together with new construction at 3 abutting parcels, by JRF Management LLC and Kaoud Real Estate Development LLC.
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Lucas A. Karmazinas

Date

05/17/2016

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, 1924, 1940.
6. Aerial Survey of Connecticut, 1934, 1951, 1965, 1970, 1985.
7. Hartford Courant, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1931, 1932, 1933.