Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• Lambert Kay Winsted Division of Carter-Wallace 1974-1991
• Winsted Edge Tool Co. 1872 -c.1960
• Winsted Hoe Co. 1867-1872

Use (Historic)

• Consumer Products, Small Appliances
• Fabricated Metal Products
• Mining, Primary Metals

Largest Documented Workforce

100 (c.1945)

Historic Narrative

The first occupant of the site was the American Hoe Company, incorporated in 1852; the firm closed with the onset of the Civil War, and there are no buildings that survive from that period. The Winsted Hoe Company, organized c.1866, then occupied the site, and in 1869, it purchased the T.H. Witherby’s Works of Millbury Massachusetts, known for fine steel chisels since 1827. Witherby’s Worchester operations were discontinued and all manufacturing of Witherby tools was done in Winsted. By 1882, when the firm was incorporated as the Winsted Edge Tool Works, its entire product line was identified as T.H. Witherby, with gouges and drawing knives added to the production of chisels. Like many tool and metals manufacturers, the Winsted Edge Tool Works saw a substantial increase in demand during the First and Second World Wars. It secured several defense contracts during the Korean War, and supplied tools to South America and Australia. In the 1950s, South American exports accounted for about 30% of the company’s total output. Down from a company height of about 100 employees in the mid-1940s to only 20 in 1954, the tool company closed in 1955. The property and assets were auctioned off and purchased by The Winsted Company, metal goods manufacturers (purchased by Lambert Kay division of Carter Wallace in 1973), which occupied the site through 1991. The building has been vacant since then. TH Witherby & Winsted Edge info below; see TH Witherby history at WK Fine Tools website: http://otools1.wkfinetools.com/edgeT/WETW/history/History-NM/p01.asp Note: as of 2017 SHPO determined that the site is not eligible for SR listing T. H. Witherby and Winsted The first T. H. Witherby chisels were made by Thomas H. Witherby (T.H. Witherby and Co.), at a site on the Dorothy Stream (at Rivelin and Brightside Streets) and at a second location adjacent to the armory in Millbury, MA, for a few short years from the late 1840s to 1854. Witherby won a silver medal for chisels and drawknives at the Fair of the American Institute of the City of New York in 1850. His business was bought by Harrington, Heald & Co. in 1856 (Harrington begin Witherby’s brother in law), becoming the T. H. Witherby Tool Co. By 1859, and through 1870, Witherby himself appears to have been in Worcester making and selling iron fence and designing and receiving patents on rotary engines, shearing/punching machine, and a mower. In 1862, the Witherby Tool Co. in Millbury had a contract for bayonets and ramrods as part of Civil War supply production. Witherby’s Rivelin factory was sold to another edge toolmaker, Buck Brothers, in 1864, and assets of the Witherby Tool Co. were sold to Winsted Hoe Co. in 1868. Buck Brothers still operate at the Rivelin location today, though any mid-19th century factory buildings used by T.H. Witherby have since been demolished; there is no evidence that Buck Brothers ever made tools with a T.H. Witherby trademark. The Witherby site near the armory no longer stands. There are no documented T.H. Witherby tools made in Millbury after 1868. Under the management of T. M. Clarke (former publisher of the Winsted Herald), the Winsted Hoe Co. produced tools with the T. H. Witherby trademark beginning in 1868. In 1882, the company was incorporated as the Winsted Edge Tool Works, and shifted entirely to the manufacture of carpenters’ tools. Longtime foreman George Jessup is said to have perfected the steel tempering process. After each of two fires in 1900 and 1916, the factory was rebuilt within 60 days to continue production and employment. Through 1955, or for approximately 75 years, the firm was one of the main sources of quality chisels, draw-knives and gauges for woodworkers and furniture makers in the US. It supplied tools during both world wars, and had defense contracts during the Korean War. In the 1950s, it also exported to South America (about 30% of product) and Australia. The firm was a steady local employer in Winsted, providing 100 jobs from at least 1916 through World War II, and 50 jobs in the years after the war. Carpenter tools with the T.H. Witherby trademark are valued even today for the high quality of the cutting edge which seldom requires sharpening. Only a few competitors have had similar longevity of production since the mid-1800s: Buck Bros., Millbury MA; James Swan, Seymour CT; Stanley, New Britain CT; and Keen Kutter, St Louis MO. And while a variety of products have been made in Winsted since the 19th century, from cutlery, hardware and wire to textiles and household appliances, Winsted Edge Tool Works is the only facility to have produced carpenters’ tools.

Number of Existing Buildings

Five (5) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

c.1872, c.1900, c.1905, c.1925, c.1960

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

• Mill
• Warehouse / Production Shed

Architectural Description

The complex consists of five major blocks along the east side of Meadow Street, built c.1872 and largely rebuilt after a fire in 1900. All but the southwesternmost block are brick, the latter being wood; each section is separated by a firewall. The northernmost block is a one-story foundry with a central 4’ raised roof built between 1904 and 1909. It adjoins a one-story block used for hardening and engine house to the south, which in turn adjoins three two story blocks used for machining, grinding, shipping and office. The southeasternmost block, one-story brick handle storage building, was built between 1919 and 1931; it is connected to the wood frame block at the corner of Lake and Meadow by a c.1960 two-story brick block. The stream from Highland Lake to the Mad River runs beneath block two north of the engine house.

Exterior Material(s)

• Brick
• Wood

Structural System(s)

• Post and Beam
• Structural Steel or Iron
• Wood Frame

Roof Form

• Clerestory Monitor
• Flat
• Gable

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

• Electricity
• Steam
• Water (Turbine)

Condition

Fair

Condition Notes

All portions of the building are in generally good condition.

Specific Location

One 1.34 acre parcel at the northeast corner of Meadow Street and Lake Street

Adjacent To

• Water (for Power)
• Railroad

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 106/ 046/ 015 / Link →

Acreage

1.34

Use (Present)

• Other: Mixed use rehab redev in the works 2017
• Vacant

Form Completed By

Mike Forino

Date

n/a

Bibliography

1. 1947 Industrial Directory of Connecticut.
2. The Hartford Courant, 1892-1954.
3. Sanborn Maps, Winchester, 1919-1947.
4. Special Acts and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, January Session, 1882 (Hartford: Case Lockwood and Brainard Co, 1882).