The Connecticut Mill
For insight into the development of industry in Connecticut in the latter part of the 19th and early decades of the 20th century, watch our fascinating 2024 Talking About Preservation presentation by Dr. Donald Rogers, Emeritus Adjunct Lecturer at CCSU, "Connecticut's Industrial Development During the Progressive Era."
Historical background on the evolution of labor and the workforce in the state can be found in articles such as "The Labor Movement in Connecticut" and other publications by Cecilia Bucki, Historian and Professor of History at Fairfield University.
You can learn about the many products made in Connecticut, the companies and workers who made them, and the processes they developed by visiting ConnecticutHistory.org, a program of CT Humanities, the business collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at UConn, the Connecticut Patents Project at the Connecticut State Library, manufacturing history at the Museum of Connecticut History, Today in Connecticut History, a joint program of the Office of State Historian and CT Humanities.
For mill sites in Coventry, Hebron, Mansfield, Stafford, Tolland and Willington, see Lost Mill Sites, a blog of the many 18th and 19th century sites researched and documented by Richard N. Symonds, Jr.
Information about historic industrial sites and museums across New England can be found at Industrial History New England, "a resource for anyone interested in the critical impact of New England industry upon the history and shaping of the United States."
Through collaborative efforts, photographer Emery Roth has documented the distinctive architecture and disappearing industries in many of Connecticut's historic mill buildings. Check out Roth's blog to learn more.
Find one of our state's many museums and historical societies with industrial history collections at Experience CT Mills!
