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Winsted 

The  Development 

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An  Ideal  To>vn 


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Reprinted  from 

The  Connecticut  Magazine 
1906 


WINSTED— THE  DEVELOPMENT   OF  AN   IDEAL  TOWN 

STORY  OK  ITS  GROWTH  FROM  THE  D\YS  WHEN  IT 
WAS  A  PART  OF  THE  NORTHWEST  WOODS  AND  FELL 
INTO  THE  CONTROL  OF  HARTFORD— THE  SETTLEMENT 
ON  THE  BRIDLE  PATH  BECOMES  A  PROSPEROUS  MANU- 
FACTURING  CENTER— HISTORICAL  ARTICLE 

BY 

ROBEUT    S.    HULBERT 

Mr.  Hulbert  testifies  to  the  thrift  of  Winsted,  Connecticut,  from  his  experience  as  a  recorder  of  its 
progress  while  the  editor  of  one  of  its  leading  newspapers.  He  was  born  at  West  Winsted,  April  6,  1854, 
and  received  his  early  education  in  the  schools  of  Winsted.  He  attended  the  Williston  Seminary  at 
Easthampton,  Ma^s.,  and  was  graduated  Irom  the  SheflSeld  Scientific  School  at  Yale  University  in  the 
class  of  1878.  From  1893  to  1895  he  was  the  editor  of  the  Winsted  Daily  Herald,  and  since  that  time  has 
been  in  active  newspaper  work  and  civil  engineering.  Mr.  Hulbert  is  a  member  of  the  Connecticut  Civil 
Engineers  and  Surveyors  Association  and  has  been  a  follower  of  the  profession  much  of  the  time  since 
1878.  As  a  contributor  to  the  Hartford  Courant,  and  other  publications,  on  Litchfield  County,  he  is  to-day 
recognized  as  an  authority  on  matters  pertaining  to  his.  home  town.  The  illustrations  used  in  the 
article  are  from  photographs  by  K.  T.  Sheldon,  F.  H.  De  Mars,  T.  M.  V,  Doughty,  Harry  D.  Penney 
and  others.  Several  of  the  plates  are  used  by  courtesy  of  the  Central  New  Bngland  Division  of  The  New 
York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford  Railroad.— -St^zVor 


'INSTED,  whose  name  is  de- 
rived from,  the  Alpha  of 
Winchester  and  the  Omega 
of  Barkhamsted,  is  a  Bor- 
ough lying  within  the  former  township, 
close  to  the  line  which  divides  it  from 
the  latter.  It  is  a  growing,  beautiful, 
hill-encircled  village  with  characteristics 
of  which  its  citizens  are  proud,  and 
which  —  so  the  more  enthusiastic  believe 
—  differentiate  it  greatly  from  all  other 
places. 

This  belief  may  arise  in  part  from  the 
fact  that  the  Town  of  Winchester, 
though  comparatively  young  —  of  its 
neighbors  in  Litchfield  county,  only 
Colebrook  is  of  lesser  age  —  has  a  his- 
tory which  has  been  unusually  well  told, 
and  which  seems  to  warrant  a  certain 
optimism. 

It  was  fortunate  in  being  the  birth- 
place and  life-long  residence  of  a  man, 
accomplished  and  educated,  who  gath- 
ered the  town's  history  into  the  in- 
valuable "Annals  of  Winchester."  Its 
author,  John  Boyd,  was  born  in  Win- 
sted in  1799.  His  father  was  James  Boyd, 


who,  with  his  partner,  Benjamin  Jenkins, 
composed  the  firm  of  Jenkins  &  Boyd, 
"the  pioneer  manufacturers  of  Winsted." 

John  Boyd  graduated  in  1821  from 
Yale  College.  He  afterwards  studied 
law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  New 
Haven  County  in  1825.  From  1827  to 
1853  he  was  himself  a  manufacturer  in 
Winsted,  a  member  of  the  firm  of  J. 
Boyd  &  Son,  except  for  the  last  three 
years,  during  which  he  carried  on  the 
business  for  himself.  He  filled  many 
public  offices.  He  was  a  representative 
to  the  General  Assembly  in  1830  and 
1835;  county  commissioner  in  1840,  1849 
and  1850;  town  clerk  from  1829  to  1833, 
from  1837  to  1841  and  from  1855  to  1877; 
judge  of  probate  from  1854  to  1869,  when 
he  was  disqualified  by  age;  State  senator 
in  1854  and  secretary  of  the  State  of 
Connecticut  from  1859  to  1861. 

During  all  his  career  his  tastes  appear 
to  have  been  literary  and  historical.  It 
was  while  he  was  yet  a  student,  that  he 
found  and  rescued  the  famous  Charter  of 
the  State  of  Connecticut  from  its  immi- 
nent fate  of  being  cut  up  and  becoming, 


568      WINSTED— DEVELOPMENT   OF  AN  IDEAL    TOWN 


Photo  by  Harry  E.  Penney 
FIRST    FRAME    HOUSE    IN    WINCHESTER — BUILT    BY    CALEB    BEACH    ON    HALL 
MEADOW   ROAD— MASSIVE   CHIMNEY   IS    ALL   THAT   NOW   REMAINS 


not  ignobly,  for  to  say  that  would  be  un- 
gallant,  but  incongruously,  —  part  of  a 
lady's  bonnet.  Mr.  Boyd,  who  died 
December  i,  1891,  never  knew  that  the 
valuable  document  he  had  saved  was  the 
original,  but  always  supposed  it  to  be  a 
duplicate.  Evidence  discovered  and  pub- 
lished within  a  year  or  two,  seems  to 
prove  that  it  was  the  very  Charter  itself. 


It  was  the  fear  of  losing  this  Charter, 
vith  all  that  it  meant  to  tl  em,  which 
s:ave  the  people  of  Connecticut  Co>- 
ony  the  shock  which  they  experienced 
upon  the  arrival  at  Boston  of  Sir  Ed- 
mund Andros,  in  1685,  to  assume  the 
government  of  all  New  England.  The 
same  fear,  indirectly,  had  much  to  do 
with    Winsted's    future.      They    determ- 


Photo  by  F.  H.  DcMars 

FIRST  MEETING  HOUSE— BUILT  IN  1769  AT  WINCHESTER        FIRST  FRAME  HOUSE  IN  WINSTED  BOROUGH -KNOWN 
CKNTER— IT  WAS  30  FEET  LONG  BY  24  FEET  WIDE  AS   OLD    MILL    HOUSB,    BUILT    BY    DAVID    AUSTIN 

ABOUT    1771 


WINSTED— DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


569 


^      C Cj  I  €  B  ROOK 


TORRI NGTON 
/7a/ 


/77/ 


/77a 


MAP  SHOWING  DEVEIyOPMENT  OK  WINCHESTER 

Three  distinct  epochs  are  represented— 1761,  the  building  of  the  old  north  and  south  roads— 1771  to 
1776,  years  respectively  in  which  Austin's  and  Balcom's  grist  mills  were  built— 1779  when  Greenwoods 
Turnpike  was  built  on  which  Winsted  developed  in  place  indicated— Drawn  by  R.  S.  Hulbert 


ined  not  to  give  up  the  Charter  if  it 
could  be  avoided,  but  they  also  decided 
to  save  everything  else  possible  if  the 
Charter  should  be  taken  from  them. 
The  General  Court  immediately  con- 
vened for  action. 

Among  things  worth  keeping  belong- 
ing to  the  Colony,  was  a  lot  of  unoc- 
cupied land  of  unknown  value  in  the 
northwestern  corner  of  the  Colony,  in- 
cluding all  of  what  is  now  Litchfield 
County  and  considerably  more.    To  save 


this  land  the  General  Court  hastily  gave 
it  over,  after  a  fashion,  in  a  series  of 
grants  to  different  towns  in  the  Colony. 
The  action  proved  unnecessary  in  the 
sequel,  for  Andros  not  only  failed  to 
obtain  the  Charter,  thanks  to  the  re- 
puted incident  of  the  Charter  Oak,  but 
in  less  than  two  years  the  revolution  in 
England's  politics  brought  his  rule  in 
New  England  to  an  abrupt  end.  The 
conduct  of  affairs  in  the  Colony  was 
then    resumed    under    the    old    Charter, 


Photo  by  Sneid 

FIRST  HOUSE  ON  MAIN  STREET,  WINSTED 

At  extreme  left  is  structure  built  in  1798  and  used  as  Higley  Tavern,  afterward  Union  House 


570  WINSTED—DErilLOPMllKr  Of  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


nearly  as  before.  Anj'  expectations, 
however,  tliat  the  towns  would  hurry  to 
give  back  to  the  Colony  the  lands  which 
had  been  deeded  to  them  against  a  con- 
tingency which  never  came,  proved  to 
be  of  the  stuff  of  dreams.  The  favored 
towns  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  They 
kept  quiet,  "laid  low,"  as  the  expression 
is,  for  a  generation,  and  then  cautiously 
began  a  set  of  manoeuvres  designed  to 
IJcrfect  their  title  and  make  them  secure 
in   their  ownership. 

Without    following    the    details    of    the 
"deal,"    it    sufiices    to    say    that    Hartford 


JOHN  BOYD,  HISTORIAN 

Plioto  by  T.  M.  v.  Doughty 

was  well  in  it  from  the  first,  and  in  1732 
became  the  owner  of  that  part  of 
the  "western  lands"  included  in  the 
towns  of  Winchester,  Hartland,  New 
Hartford,  and  the  eastern  half  of  Har- 
winton,  with  power  to  assign  the  terri- 
tory to  the  taxpayers  of  Hartford,  who 
should  divide  it  among  themselves  in 
proportion  to  the  amcnmt  of  their  taxes 
on  the  list  of  1720.  The  men  whose 
names  were  on  the  tax  list  of  1720,  and 
their  heirs,  became,  therefore,  the  "pro- 
prietors" of  Winchester  and  the  other 
towns   mentioned. 


CHURCH  IN  WINCHESTER  CENTER 
Dedicated  June  30,  1842 

They  had  a  corporate  existence  with 
the  right  to  survey  the  lands  and  make 
the  division  among  themselves  when- 
ever they  saw  fit.  They  took  their  time 
for  it,  and  it  was  1758  before  the 
first     survey     and     report     of     the     divi- 


REV.  FREDERICK  MARSH 
Born  September  18, 1780— Died  February  6,  187.S 


W I NSTED— DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN  571 


WHERE  THE  ELECTRIC  POWER   FOR  WINSTED  IS  GENERATED— TUNXIS  FALLS 


572 


WINSTED—DEVBLOPMHNT  OP  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


MEMORIAL  FOUNTAIN— GIFT  OF  MRS.  MARY  ANN  BI,AKE  MITCHELL 

Located  in  Park  at  East  part  of  Borough— Above  view  is  looking  toward  Park  Hotel  and  loaned 
by  courtesy  of  Harvej'  L-  Roberts 


sion  of  the  Winchester  lands  were 
made.  A  preliminary  valuation  had  been 
made  in  1732  when  New  Hartford  was 
appraised  at  fifteen  shillings  per  acre, 
Winchester  and  eastern  Harwinton  at 
ten  shillings,  and  Hartland  at  seven  shil- 
lings and  sixpence. 


The  division  of  the  land  of  Winchester 
was  by  lottery,  a  drawing  being  held, 
and  the  town  was  legally  open  for  settle- 
ment. As  a  matter  of  fact  the  pioneers 
were  already  here. 

The  proprietors  had  lost  so  much 
time  that  the  towns  of  Norfolk,  Canaan 


RESIDENCE  OF  CAUEB  J.  CAMP 


Photo  by  K.  T.  Sheldon 


WINSr ED— DEVELOPMENT  Of  AN  IDEAL  TOWN  573 


Photo  by  T.  M.  V.  Doughty 

COLONIAL  MANSION  BUILT  BY  SOLOMON  ROCKWELL  IN  1813 
For  many  years  residence  of  John  Boyd,  historian,  and  now  home  of  Miss  Mary  P.  Hinsdale 


Photo  by  F.  H.  DiVtais 

HIGHLAND  LAKE  SHOWING  WAKEFIELD  BOULEVARD— LOOKING  SOUTH 
TOWARD  SECOND  BAY 


574  IVINSTED—DEVliLOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


Photo  by  K.  T.Sheldu 


WINCHESTER  CENTER 


and  Goshen  were  ahead  of  them  and  were 
filling  up  with  settlers.  To  reach  these 
towns  from  Hartford  and  the  east  there 
were  at  this  time  two  bridle  paths,  both 
of  which  ran  for  some  distance  into  the 
town  of  Winchester,  one  through  the 
northeast  corner  and  the  other  in  the 
southwest.  Either  stopping  along  these 
paths  or  coming  back  to  them  from 
the  other  towns,  a  few  men  had  built 
rude  huts  within  the  limits  of  Winches- 


ter and  were  living  in  them  when  t!ie 
division  of  lands  was  made.  They  could 
not  own  the  particular  ground  on  wliich 
they  had  built,  but  some  of  them  had 
bought  "undivided  rights"  from  proprie- 
tors who  had  grown  impatient  in  wait- 
ing for  the  division.  The  buyers  had 
then  squatted  on  the  theory  that  they 
were  entitled  to  land  somewhere  in  the 
town  and  might  as  well  locate  on  corner 
lots   on   the  bridle   paths   as   anywhere. 


RESIDENCE  OF  ELLIOTT   B.   BRONSON— WINCHESTER   CENTER 


W IN Sr ED— DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN  575 


HOMESTEAD  AT  WINCHESTER   CENTER  BUII^T  BY  ISAAC  BRONSON  ABOUT  1800- 
NOW  OCCUPIED  BY  EDMUND  H.  BRONSON 


The  first  of  these  settlers  on  the  bridle 
path,  mentioned  in  the  records,  was 
Caleb  Beach.  He  came  from  Goshen  and 
had  bought  an  "undivided  right"  in  Win- 
chester lands  on  May  21,  1750.  It  is 
said  that  he  did  not  intend  to  build  on 
his  Winchester  purchase  but  supposed 
when  he  put  up  his  shanty  that  he  was  in 
the  town  of  Goshen.  Be  that  as  it  may, 
the  building  proved  to  be  in  Winchester 
on  what  is  now  called  Hall  Meadow,  not 
far  from  the  Goshen  line.  The  original 
building    was    replaced    some    time    later 


by  the  first  frame  house  built  in  the 
town  of  Winchester.  This  house  was 
standing  in  1899.  It  has  since  been 
blown  down  and  nothing  remains  except 
the  chimney.  Plans  are  now  being  per- 
fected to  mark  with  a  suitable  monument 
the  site,  and  it  is  possible  that  during 
the  year  the  town  will  vote  an  appropria- 
tion for  the  purpose.  It  may  be  noted 
that  when  the  division  was  made  Mr. 
Beach  received  the  land  on  which  his 
house   stood. 

Another   notable   settler   on   the   bridle 


When  Hurlbut  Bank  was  organized  iu  1857  the  firm  of  S.  &  L.  Hurlbut  gave  $1,000  to  have  it  named 
after  them  — On  first  bank  bills  issued  Samuel  Hurlbut's  portrait  appears  on  flO  notes  and  Lemuel 
Hurlbut's  on  $3  bills,  while  on  S-'i  notes  is  the  picture  of  Lemuel  Hurlbut's  devon  bull 


WINSTED— DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


577 


Clark  House — Erected  about  1859  and  demolished 
to  make  place  for  Hotel  Winchester— First  pro- 
prietor was  William  Forbes — C.  B.  Andrews  was 
last  proprietor — Photo  by  T.  M.  V.  Doughty  dur- 
ing Civil  War 

path  was  Adam  Mott,  who  actually  built 
a  "Public  Inn"  beside  it.  It  stood  near 
the  present  Hurlbut  Cemetery  and  be- 
came somewhat  famous  in  later  years. 
At  first,  however,  it  was  but  a  rude  log 
house  with  a  roof  of  hemlock  bark,  and 
its  patronage  must  have  been  meager, 
furnished  largely  by  hunters,  w^ho  were 
frequent  visitors   to  these  woods. 

Three  other  families,  the  Gilberts,  the 
_J"illeys,  and  the  Prestons,  make  com- 
plete, so  far  as  known,  the  list  of  people 
living  in  Winchester  before  the  official 
division  of  the  lands  in  1758. 

It  would  have  been  an  unpromising 
prospect  for  one  who  might  have  come 
to  Winchester  at  this  time  with  the  idea 
of  building  a  city.  He  would  have  found 
a  rocky  wilderness  covered  with  forests, 
in  which  hemlock  predominated;  with 
the  valley  of  Mad  river,  which  runs 
through  the  center  of  the  present  Bor- 
ough of  Winsted,  an,  impassable  and 
tangled  morass.     So  uninviting  would  it 


have  seemed,  that  he  would  probably 
hurriedly  have  abandoned  his  plans  and 
moved  on  to  the  fairer  and  more  hos- 
pitable looking  lands,  which  lay  not  far 
away  to  the  south  and  west. 

Quite  likely,  indeed,  unfavorable  re- 
ports of  the  region  traveled  back  to 
the  Hartford  owners,  for  not  one  of 
the  original  proprietors  ever  settled 
on  his  Winchester  holdings.  Never- 
theless, despite  inauspicious  appear- 
ances, the  growth  of  a  town  commenced 
as  if  predestined.  About  1760,  the  travel 
over  the  bridle  paths  became  so  large 
that  the  General  Assembly  took  the  mat- 
ter of  roads  in  consideration,  and  in  1761 
the  "old  north  road"  was  built  to  super- 


W\  '•    < 

^ 

/' 

_J 

ML 

\ 

1 

i 

p 

^  1 

1 

Homestead  of  William  S.  Holabird,  I^ieutenant 
Governor  of  Connecticut  184-^-1844— Died  185-5 — 
Photo  by  T.  M.  V.  Doughty 


Home  of  Rose  Terry  Cooke,   poetess — Photo  by 
K.  T.  Sheldon 

sede  the  still  older  bridle  path  in  that 
part  of  the  town,  and  in  1762  the  other  -^ 
bridle  path,  on  which  the  few  settlers 
had  located,  gave  way  to  the  "old  south 
road."  An  influx  of  settlers  began  and 
in  1768  there  were  at  least  "eighteen  fam- 
ilies containing  sixty-two  souls"  within 
the  township,  mostly  living  along  the 
south  road. 

In  1771  there  were  thirty-two  families 
and  one  hundred  and  seventy-nine  souls 
and  in  1782  the  population  of  the  town  is 
given  as  688.  The  majority  of  these 
lived  near  the  beautiful  section  of  the 
town  known  now  as  Winchester  Center, 
or  the  Old  Society,  which  was  approach- 
ing the  zenith  of  its  importance  and  be- 
came the  scene  of  its  greatest  activity  a 
quarter  of  a  century  later,  or  about  1803. 


578  WI NSTBD—DEV BLOPM ENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


Old  Methodist  Church  erected  1833— Old  Second  Congregational  Church  dedicated  i857— Old  First 
Congregational  Church  built  1800— Style  of  architecture  is  in  contrast  to  new  edifice  shown  below 

Photo  by  K.  T.  Sheldon 

Meanwhile   the   infant  village   of  Win-  let   of   Long   Pona.      There,   looking   out 

sted  had  been  born.     A  man  of  the  pion-  over    the    lake    as    it    lay   shining    in    the 

eers   on   the   south   road   seems,  by  some  sunlight,   untouched,   but   quivering  as   if 

hap,  —  hunting,    fishing,    or    exploring, —  vibrant  with  latent  force,  and  noting  the 

to  have  penetrated  eastward  to  the  out-  wild,   precipitous   gorge   down   which   its 


First  Congregational  Church  erected  1891— Courtesy  of  H.  J.  Pierre 


WIN STED— DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


579 


Second  Congregational  Church  erected  1899 

waters  tumbled  in  a  drop  of  150  feet  in 
less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  river 
below,  he  saw,  perhaps,  in  prophetic  vis- 
ion, the  future  Winsted  made  rich  bj' 
this  waiting  and  abundant  power.  At 
any  rate  he  saw  a  good  site  for  a  grist 
inill.  So  in  1771  he  hewed  a  cart 
path  from  the  Old  South  Road  "through 
the  forest,  down  to  Sucker  Brook,  and 
over  the  hills  west  of  the  pond  to 
its  outlet."  There  he  built  a  mill 
and  a  shanty,  and  a  little  later  the 
old  "millhouse"  in  which  he  lived, 
and  which  is  still  standing  and  in- 
habited. It  was  the  first  frame  house 
in   the  village,   and   to   David   Austin,   its 


builder,  must  be  given  the  honor  of  the 
title,  "Founder  of  Winsted."  The  hardy 
old  pioneer,  restless,  did  not  remain  in 
town.  His  subsequent  career  has  a 
touch  of  pathos  in  it,  but  that  is  another 
story. 

Five  or  six  years  after  David  Austin  of 
the  South  Road  built  his  grist  mill  at  the 
Lake,  John  Balcom,  a  dweller  on  the 
North  Road,  is  believed  to  have  built 
another    known    as    the    Doolittle    mill, 


Methodist  Episcopal  Church  nearing  cotaple- 
tion— Photo  by  K.  T.  Sheldon 


St.  James  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  conse- 
crated 1848— Photo  by  K.  T.  Sheldon 

near  the  present  William  L.  Gilbert 
Clock  Company's  works,  reaching  it  by 
a  road  down  Wallin's  Hill.  Around  these 
two  grist  mills,  separated  by  what  is  now 
the  heart  of  the  Borough  of  Winsted, 
but  by  what  was  then  two  miles  of  un- 
broken forest  and  thick  underbrush, 
with  probably  not  even  a  path  con- 
necting them,  small  clusters  of  houses 
grew  up;  later  a  bridle  path  from 
one  to  the  other  was  made  by  way 
of  the  present  Lake  street,  Hins- 
dale and  Wetmore  avenues  and  North 
Main  street,  which  subsequently  devel- 
oped into  a  road.  In  1799  the  Green- 
woods turnpike  was  opened  from  New 
Hartford  to  Shefifield  and  a  part  of  it  be- 


s8o 


IVINSTED— DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


Baptist  Church  erected  1889— Photo  by  F.  H.  De- 
Mars 

came  the  Main  street  of  Winsted.  The 
new  turnpike  immediately  monopolized 
the  through  travel  to  the  west  which  had 
formerly  passed  over  the  old  North  and 
South  Roads,  and  it  was  at  once  an  im- 
portant thoroughfare.  North  Main 
street  was  quickly  extended  down  to  it 
and  the  skeleton  framework  of  Winsted 
streets  was  established,  but  it  preceded  a 
long  time  the  day  of  the  "Good  Roads" 
movement. 

The  year  before  the  Greenwoods  turn- 
pike was  opened,  the  "Higley  Tavern,",, 
afterwards  the  Union  House,  now  torn 
down,  was  built  in  anticipation  of  the 
road  and  was  the  first  frame  house  on 
the   Main   street  of  Winsted. 

The  history  of  the  next  hundred  years 
of  Winsted's  life,  from  the  building  of 
Austin's  mill,  can  be  but  hastily  sketch- 
ed here.  It  is  given  faithfully,  ably 
and  with  minuteness  in  John  Boyd's  An- 
nals. It  developed  the  town  which  the 
aged  historian  knew  in  his  last  years.  It 
was    a    century    of    hard    and    plodding 


work,  of  increasing  wealth,  of  growth  of 
character.  For  after  all  they  would  be 
rude  people  in  these  days,  those  old  an- 
cestors of  ours.  Stern,  honest  and  nerve- 
strong  they  were,  but  bigoted,  super- 
stitious, rough  and  uncouth  in  many 
ways,  with  the  cider  barrel  always  in 
the  cellar,  rum  a  common  beverage,  and 
conducting  lotteries  to  support  their 
churches.  We  are  proud  of  them  be- 
cause they  were  in  advance  of  their 
own  times,  not  of  ours. 

The  bigotry  and  superstition  have  de- 
creased   steadily.      The    history    of    the 


St.  Joseph's  Roman  Catholic  Church  erected  1853 
—Photo  by  K.  T.  Sheldon 


and  Court  House— Photo  by  F.  H.  De- 


churches  shows  in  miniature  the  world 
movement  toward  tolerance.  It  could 
be  traced  in  Winchester  from  the  rigid 
orthodoxy  of  the  first  minister,  Rev.  Mr. 
Knapp,  through  the  pastorates  of  his  suc- 
cessors, to  the  time  when  its  most  hid- 
eous dogma,  the  damnation  of  children, 
weakened;  an  event  of  which  the  late 
Lewis  Andrews  wrote,  "It  was  my  hap- 
py lot  to  hear  the  late  Rev.  Marsh  preach 
his  first  sermon  at  a  child's  funeral,  so 
he  said,  where  he  was  able  to  bring  com- 
fort to  a  frantic  mother's  stricken  heart." 


W IN STED— DEVELOPMENT  Of  AN  IDEAL  TOWN  581 


THE  GIIvBERT  SCHOOIv 


Courtesy  of  the  Citizen  Printing  Co. 


We  could  trace  the  movement  further, 
step  by  step  down  to  the  present  time, 
when  the  Brotherhood  of  Man  is  be- 
coming the  universal  creed.  As  for  sec- 
tarianism, its  reign  and  subsidence  are 
graphically  pictured  in  Winchester  his- 
tory, for  Mr.  Boyd  says,  "In  those  days" 
(when  the  first  Methodist  meeting  house 
was  built  at  the  foot  of  Spencer  street) 
"the  Methodist  and  Congregational  re- 
ligionists   had    little    more    sympathy    or 


intercourse  with  each  other  than  the  old 
Jews  and  Samaritans.  The  circuit  rider 
came  on  his  rounds  and  declaimed  a- 
gainst  steeple  meeting  houses,  pitchpipe 
singing  and  the  doctrine  of  election 
and  the  Presbyterians,  on  the 
other  hand,  looked  on  the  Methodists  as 
interlopers  and  fanatics.  .  .  .  Time 
and  circumstances  have  worn  away  the 
prejudices  and  softened  the  asperities  of 
the   two   denominations.      Intermarriages 


Photo  by  F.  H.  OeMars 

THE  WIIvWAM  L.  GIIvBERT  HOME  FOR  FRIENDI^ESS  CHII^DREN 


;82 


WINSTED— DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOV/N 


WILLIAM  L.  GILBERT,  philauthropist 

liave  led  to  mutual  forbearance.  The 
temperance  movement  brought  the  best 
men  and  women  of  the  two  orders  into 
co-operation   and   the  anti-slavery  move- 


ment, fearlessly  advocated  by  the  living 
Christianity  of  both  churches,  was  the 
deathblow  of  sectarianism." 

The  belief  in  witchcraft  and  the  per- 
sonality of  the  devil  have  greatly  waned 
since  the  days  of  Caleb  Beach  and  the 
other  pioneers,  but  they  were  very  living 
beliefs  then.  Mrs.  Beach  herself  had 
some  experiences,  according  to  tradition, 
while  living  in  the  old  house  which  has 
been  pictured  as  the  first  house  built  in 
the  town: 

"Mrs.  Beach  was  an  expert  and  excel- 
lent weaver.  Once  she  had  to  finish  a 
large  quantity  of  work  by  a  given  time, 
but  she  was  sick  for  a  while  and  after 
that  unable  to  do  her  daily  'stent.'  There 
was  then  talk  of  an  'evil  eye'  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  a  'spell'  upon  the  weaver's 
loom.  One  night  as  the  family  sat 
around  the  huge  fireplace,  the  sound  of 
someone  weaving  in  the  back  room 
startled  them,  but  no  one  dared  investi- 
gate in  the  dark.  By  the  time  the  fire- 
knot  was  lighted  and  they  had  gone  into 
the  weaving  room,  the  loom  was  silent 
and  locked,  but  quite  a  strip  of  cloth 
had  been  completed  of  a  different  weave, 


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— '• "•                      .                                                                                          _    _     ,_    _ ^ — ^l 

MEMORIAL  LIBRARY   BUILDING 


Photo  by  I-.  H.  DeMars 


W IN Sr ED— DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


583 


Mrs.  Delia  Ellen  (Rockwell)  Miss  Martha  Beardsley — Born  Mrs.  Maria  (Hewitt)  Brown — 
Beardsley — Born  January  Iti,  February  13,  i85t>— Died  Novem-  Born  September  23,  1812— Died 
1811— Died  March  19,  1878  ber  25, 1890  January  28, 1899 


the  work  of  a  new  hand.  When  they  had 
returned  to  the  front  room  the  same 
thing  happened  again,  and  then  again. 
It  was  pronounced  witchcraft,  and  there- 
after the  weaver  worked  in  constant  fear, 
but  hurried  to  finish  the  cloth  and  it  was 
completed  the  evening  before  the  day 
set  for  it.  During  the  night  the  treadles 
of  the  loom  were  heard  distinctly  sev- 
eral times  and  in  the  morning  the  out- 
side door  was  wide  open  and  upon  the 
newly  fallen  snow  were  tracks  of  a  clo- 
ven hoof  and  marks  as  if  some  creature 


had  brushed  its  tail  in  the  snow." 

And  all  this  was  not  so  very  long  ago. 
It  is  a  somewhat  remarkable  fact  that 
there  are  people  living  today  who  have 
seen  every  church  edifice  ever  built  in 
the  town.  The  first  church  was  in  the 
Old  Society.  It  was  thirty  feet  long  by 
twenty-four  wide,  with  nine  feet  posts. 
It  was  built  in  1769.  The  handle  of  the 
door  of  this  church  is  now  owned  by 
Elliot  B.  Bronson  of  Winchester  Center. 
It  was  made  by  David  Austin  in  his 
blacksmith  shop  before  he  built  his  grist 


Jenison  J.    Whitingf — Born   January  9,  1818 — Died 
October  22, 1897— Photo  by  K.  T.  Sheldon 


Frederick  B.  Griswold — Born  January  17,  1824 — 
Died  April  14, 1901— Photo  by  K.  T.  Sheldon 


584 


W I NSTED— DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


The  late  Hon.  Lorrin  A.  Cooke— Governor  of 
Connecticut  1897-1899 

mill  in  Winsted,  and  is  stamped  with  his 
initials  and  the  date,  1769.  Near  the 
church  was  a  Sabbath  Day  house,  where 
people  could  warm  themselves  and  eat 
their  luncheon  during  intermission.    This 


church  was  afterwards  removed  from  its 
site  and  used  many  years  for  a  barn.  The 
second  church  in  the  Old  Society  was 
built  in  1785.  It  was  used  for  more  than 
fifty  years  before  a  stove  was  put  into  it, 
and  was  succeeded  by  the  present  build- 
ing, which  was  dedicated  June  30,   1842.  - 

The  first  meeting-house  in  Winsted 
Society  was  really  over  the  line  in  Bark- 
hamsted.  It  was  situated  on  Wallin's 
Hill  and  was  used  but  a  short  time. 

In  1800  the  First  Congregational 
church  was  built.  It  was  moved  and  re- 
modeled about  1850  and  was  used  until 
iQOi,  when  the  new  church  was  erected. 
The  first  Methodist  church  was  on  Spen- 
cer street  and  is  now  a  tenement  house. 
The  present  Methodist  church,  which  is 
soon  to  give  place  to  the  one  now  being 
built,  was  erected  in  1833.  St.  James 
Episcopal  church  was  consecrated  in  the 
fall  of  1848.  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  church^ 
was  first  used  in  1853.  The  Second  Con- 
gregational church  was  dedicated  in 
1857  and  used  until  1899,  when  the  new 
church  was  finished.  The  Baptist  church 
was  built  in  1889  and  remodeled  in  1902. 
A  Second  Advent  chapel  was  built  about 
1890  but  was  not  well  supported  and  is 
now  made  over  into  a  tenement  house. 

The  material  prosperity  of  the  com- 
munity upon  which  all  other  progress, 
even    religious,    is    undoubtedly    more    or 


J^ 


THE  LITCHFIELD  COUNTY  HOSPITAL 


Photo  l)y  F.  H.  DeMar 


W IN STED— DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  WEAL  TOWN 


585 


less  dependent,  came  to  Winsted  from 
its  valuable  water  power.  About  the 
time  that  David  Austin  built  his  grist 
mill,  Richard  Smith,  an  Englishman, 
built  a  forge  at  what  is  now  Roberts- 
ville,  in  Barkhamsted,  near  the  north- 
eastern corner  of  Winchester.  At  this 
forge  pig  iron  was  refined,  which  was 
brought,  in  saddle  bags  at  first,  thirty 
miles  from  the  mines  in  Salisbury. 
Other  forges,  obtaining  pig  iron  from 
the  same  source  were  built  in  the 
vicinity.  Between  1800  and  1812,  four 
at  least  were  built  in  Winchester,  some 
on  the  lake  stream,  between  the  lake  and 
Mad  river,  and  others  on  the  river.  At 
one  of  these  forges,  at  a  later  date.  Gen- 
eral H.  A.  Harvey,  the  inventor  of  Har- 
ve3dzed  armor  for  battleships,  carried 
on  business  under  the  name  of  the  Har- 
vey Iron  &  Steel  Co.  All  of  the  old 
forges  have  passed  away  and  their  sites 
are  occupied  by  other  buildings.  The 
last  one,  the  Timothy  Hulbert  forge, 
was  torn  down  about  fifteen  years  ago. 
But  for  half  a  century  the  forges  did 
valiant  work  in  the  building  of  the  town. 
and  in  conjunction  with  the  scythe 
shops,  which  were  started  in  1792  by 
Benjamin    Jenkins    of    Bridgewater    and 


JUDGIi  AUGUSTUS  H.   FENN 
Born   Plymouth,   Conn.,   Jan.  18,  1844— Civil  War 
veteran— Judge  of  Supreme  Court  for  eight  years 
—Died  Winsted,  Sept.  12,  1897 

James  Boyd  of  Windsor,  under  the  name 
of  Jenkins  &  Boyd,  they  gave  to  Win- 
sted what  may  well  be  styled  its  "Iron 
Age." 


Pliuiol.)  K.T.Sheldon 
RESIDENCE  OK  LATE  GOVERNOR  LORRIN  A.  COOKE 


586         IVINSTED—DEJ^ELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


In  the  article  which  follows,  on  the  in- 
dustrial progress  of  the  town,  will  be 
found,  in  more  detail,  the  history  ot 
these   early   manufactures. 

^lany  events  in  the  town's  history  ac- 
companied  the   rise   of  its   manufactures. 


esy  HoiiKlitoii.  Mifflin  S:  Co. 


Banker  poet— Published  Winsted  Herald  in  the 
fifties  with  Stephen  A.  Hubbard 


ROSE  TERRY  COOKE, AUTHORESS 

Born  1827   West   Hartford— Died  1892,   Pittsfield, 
Mass. 

The  first  town'  meeting  of  Winchester 
was  held  July  22,  1771.  The  oldest  as- 
sessment list  of  the  town  in  existence 
was  made  in  1783.  On  it,  the  Win- 
chester Society's  property  footed  up 
£4,242-i2s-9d  and  the  Winsted  Society's 
£i,42S-i2s-9d.  The  latter's  growth  was 
already  becoming  important,  and  in  1786 
an  effort  was  made  to  form  a  separate 
incorporated  town  by  uniting  the  east- 
erly part  of  Winchester  and  the  westerly 
part  of  Barkhamsted,  but  this  plan  fail- 
ed. In  1790  it  was  voted  in  town  meet- 
ing to  set  off  and  incorporate  the  So- 
ciety' of  Winsted  into  a  separate  town 
from  the  town  of  Winchester,  but  the 
General  Assembly  "failed  to  pass  the  act 
of  incorporation."  In  1799  Winsted  had 
grown  sufficiently  to  cause  the  town  to 
vote  that  one-third  of  the  town  meetings 
be  held  at  the  house  of  Horace  Higley^ 
(the  Higley  Tavern,  just  built)  and  in^ 
t8o8  it  was  voted  to  hold  one-half  of 
the  meetings  in  Winsted.  In  1810  the 
assessment  list  gave  Winsted  $13,747.03, 


WINSTED— DEVELOPMENT  OE  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


587 


Photo  by  F.  H.  DeMars 
MEMORIAL  PARK  AND  SOLDIERS  MONUMENT  DEDICATED  SEPT.  11,  1890 


and  the  Old  Society  $I7,398..^2.  The 
two  parts  of  the  town  were  nearing  the 
time  when  the  child  should  become  as 
strong  as  the  parent.  The  famous  Fourth 
of  July  celebration  on  the  Green  in  1810 
may  be  regarded,  perhaps,  as  the  culmi- 
nation of  Winchester  Center's  glory. 
Thereafter,  though  it  had  a  long  era  of 
prosperity,  it  was  subsidiary  in.  import- 
ance to  the  growing  village  in  the  east. 
Strong  men  it  had,  indeed,  most  promi- 
nent among  them  the  widely  known 
Hurlbuts,  merchants,  farmers  and  drov- 
ers, from  whom  old  John  Brown  bought 
cattle,  Lemuel  Hurlbut  having  "intro- 
duced upon  his  farm  the  pure  Devon 
breed  of  cattle,  the  first  of  this  beauti- 
ful and  serviceable  stock  ever  brought 
into  the  State." 

After  1810  one-half  the  town  meetings 
were  held  for  a  time  in  Winchester  Cen- 
ter; then  only  one-third;  finally,  about 
1840,  this  third  was  given  up  and  all 
town  meetings  since  have  been  held  in 
Winsted.  In  i860,  the  long-established 
custom  of  selecting  one  candidate  for 
representative  to  the  General  Assembly 
from  the  Old  Society  and  one  from  Win- 
sted, and  of  holding  a  caucus  in  each 
place,  was  also  broken.  Thereafter  all 
caucuses  were  held  in  Winsted  and  about 
1865  the  separate  tax  list  for  Winchester 


Center  was  also  abolished.  The  Old 
Hill  settlement  still  exists,  catching  the 
first  rays  of  the  morning  sun  and  look- 
ing westward  over  splendid  vistas  to  dis- 
tant    dreamy    mountains,    and     there     is 


ELDER  MILES  GRANT 

Born  Torringfotd,  Conn.,  Dec.  13th,  1819— Taught 
school  in  Winsted  in  the  forties — Now  occupying 
thie  pulpit  at  age  of  84 


588 


WINSTED— DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


Photo  by  K.  T.  Sheldon 
RESIDENCE  OK  GEORGK  h-  FOSKETT  ON  SOUTH  MAIN  STREET 


prospect  that  the  new  era  of  summer 
homes  for  the  dwellers  in  cities  may 
bring  it  a  great  prosperity  in  the  future, 
but  whoever  drives  over  the  road  from 
Winchester  Center  to  "Danbury  Quar- 
ter,"  once   the   most   populous    street   in 


WII^LIAM  C.  PHEI^PS 

Born  Colebrook,  Conn.,  Sept.  4,  1808— At  age  of  96 
a  now  familiar  figure  in  Winsted — For  over  40 
years  a  school  teacher— Last  taught  in  First 
District,  Winsted 


town,  will  see  a  long  line  of  ancient  cel- 
lars overgrown  with  briers,  which  tell 
a  story  of  olden  days  which  will  never 
return. 

The  century  dating  from  the  building 
of  David  Austin's  mill  and  of  the  organ- 
ization of  the  town  of  Winchester,  July 
22,  1771,  ended  in  1871,  and  that  year 
saw  the  town's  centennial  celebration. 
Two  years  later  the  Annals  of  Winches- 
ter were  published.  Since  then,  though 
onlj'^  the  third  part  of  another  century 
has  passed,  the  population  of  the  town 
has  doubled.  If  change  in  conditions 
could  be  measured  by  the  same  direct 
ratio,  we  should  find  that  it  had  more 
than  kept  pace  with  the  increase  of  pop- 
ulation. That  century  was  one  of  man's 
work  in  Winsted,  and  its  products  were 
of  iron,  hard  and  homely.  The  thirty- 
three  years  have  brought  many  modifi- 
cations. Some  of  the  old  industries  have 
disappeared.  More  ductile  metals,  more 
easily  worked,  made  into  beautiful 
shapes  and  shining  with  bright  plating, 
go  out  from  its  factories.  Soft  wool  is 
the  material  used  in  two  large  establish- 
ments; silk  in  brilliant  colors  is  the  sole 
output  of  another,  and  in  these  factories 
many  girls  are  employed  in  clean  and 
well-paid  work.     Winsted  has  become  a 


WINSTED— DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


589 


town  of  remarkably  varied  manufactures, 
so  much  so  as  to  hold  an  almost  unique 
position  in  this  respect  for  a  town  of 
its  size. 

Along  in  the  seventies,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  New  Winsted,  it  be- 
came evident  that  the  limit  to  the 
amount  of  power  which  could  be  de- 
rived from  Long  Lake  was  nearly  reach- 
ed. When  David  Austin  erected  his  mill 
in  1771,  he  built  a  wooden  dam  which 
raised    the    lake    about    four    feet    high- 


STlirilKN   A.   ilUBHARD 

Born  August  20,  1827  Sunderland,  Mass —With 
Thomas  M.  Clark,  founded  Winsted  Herald  1853 
— Associated  with  Senator  Joseph  R.  Hawley  on 
Hartford  Courant  at  time  of  his  death,  Jan.  11, 
1890 

er  than  its  natural  level.  About  1806 
this  dam  gave  way  during  a  freshet,  but 
the  break  had  been  expected  and  was 
repaired  temporarily,  averting  disaster. 
The  same  year  a  new  dam  was  built, 
made  of  two  walls  of  stone,  filled  solid 
between,  wide  enough  for  a  roadwaj' 
along  the  top.  This  new  dam  was  a 
foot  higher  than  the  old  one.  Again  in 
i860,  when  the  Borough  waterworks  sys- 


THOMAS  M.  CI^ARK 

Born  Jan.  30, 1830— For  ten  years,  including  Civil 
War  period.  Editor  Winsted  Herald— Died  Nov. 
13, 1889 

tern  was  established,  the  Borough,  by 
authorization  of  the  legislature,  raised 
the  dam  another  four  feet.  Yet  in  many 
years  there  was  a  scarcity  of  water,  and 
it  was  recognized  that  not  more  reser- 
voir capacity,  but  more  water  to  fill  the 
existing  reservoir  must  be  provided.    For 


THEODOKK   F.   VAIl^l^ 

Born   March  27,  1832— Editor   of  Winsted  Herald 
from  1865  until  his  death,  Feb.  8, 1876 


590         WINSTED— DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


WINSTED— DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


591 


Phnio  tiv  K     1  .  hi  eld(i 


RESIDENCE  OF  ARTHUR  Iv-  CLARK 


about  ten  years  from  1875,  the  lake  did 
not  fill  to  overflowing  even  in  the  spring 
freshets.  A  bold  plan  was  formed, 
which  preliminary  surveys  in  1880  prov- 
ed to  be  practicable.  Estimates  of  cost 
varying  little  from  actual  later  results, 
were  made.  Ten  years  elapsed  after 
these  surveys  before  the  construction  be- 
gan. Then,  by  will  of  the  late  William 
L.  Gilbert,  $50,000  were  given  for  the 
purpose,  and  with  that  amount  as  a  nu- 
cleus, the  Borough  of  Winsted  complet- 
ed in  1894,  a  lasting  monument  to  its 
energy.  Briefly,  a  tunnel  six  feet  high 
and  six  feet  wide  was  bored  through 
3,252  feet  of  solid  granite  and  gneiss 
rock,  and  through  this  tunnel  from  a 
feeding  reservoir,  water  which  formerly 
ran  to  waste  down  Mad  river  is  poured 
into  Crystal  Lake  (formerly  'Little 
Pond')  and  from  this  by  its  natural  out- 
let, through  Sucker  Brook  into  High- 
land (formerly  Long)  Lake.  At  the  same 
time  the  storage  capacity  was  increased 
by  raising  Crystal  Lake  by  a  dam,  and 
pipes  were  laid  to  this  lake,  300  feet  a- 
bove  the  level  of  Main  street,  from  the 
Borough  waterworks  system,  which 
formerly  took  its  supply  from  Highland 
Lake. 


The  achievement  of  improving  its 
water  power  is  the  most  important  event 
in  the  industrial  history  of  Winsted  dur- 
ing the  last  thirty  years. 

V/e  come  now  to  a  splendid  factor  in 
the  town's  development  —  the  gifts  of 
public  -  spirited  citizens,  benefactions 
which,  in  conjunction  with  the  industrial 
changes,  have  transformed  the  town 
since  the  "Annals"  were  written.  Wil- 
liam L.  Gilbert,  whose  gifts  made  the 
tunnel  a  possibility,  gave  also  to  Win- 
sted the  Gilbert  Home'  and  the  Gilbert 
School,  two  institutions  endowed  with 
over  a  half-million  dollars  each;  the  one 
situated  on  a  commanding  position  on 
a  hill  in  the  west  part  of  the  village, 
owning  a  tract  of  land  of  over  200  acres; 
the  other  a  massive  building  facing  "the 
Green"  in  East  Winsted.  The  Home  is 
a  refuge  for  friendless  and  poor  chil- 
dren; the  school  is  an  institution  offer- 
ing free  to  residents  of  Winsted,  and  to 
others  for  a  small  tuition  fee,  the  ad- 
vantages not  only  of  the  best  high 
schools,  but  of  further  advanced  study. 
It  is  perhaps  true  that,  up  to  the  found- 
ing of  the  Gilbert  School,  Winsted  had 
hardly  kept  pace  in  its  public  schools 
with  the  general  progress  along  the  line. 


592 


IVINSTED—DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


There  had  been  able  teachers  and  the 
schools  had  advanced,  but  the  old  sec- 
tional feeling  had  retarded  the  move- 
ment. Some  excellent  private  schools, 
notably  the  Winchester  Institute,  found- 
ed in  1858  by  the  Rev.  Ira  Pettibone, 
and  continued  with  changes  until  about 
1885,  had  done  good  work,  but  their  ad- 
vantages were  not  open  to  all.  In  later 
years  the  graded  public  schools  had  done 
tlie  best  possible  under  the  conditions. 
Ilut  witli  one  stride,  at  the  opening  of 
tlie  Gilbert  School  in  1895,  Winsted  step- 
ped to  an  advanced  position  in  education- 
al ranks.  The  graded  schools,  freed  from 
iiigh  school  obligations,  are  able  to  con- 
centrate their  energies  on  thorough 
preparation  for  the  new  school  and  its 
excellent    courses. 

William  L.  Gilbert  was  a  native  of 
Litchfield,  where  he  was  born,  a  farmer's 
son,  in  1806.  He  remained  on  the  farm, 
securing  a  district  school  education  only, 
till  he  was  twenty-two  years  old.  Then 
his  instincts  led  him  from  the  farm  to 
business.  He  went  to  Bristol,  and  bor- 
rowing $300,  began,  with  a  brother-in- 
law,  the  manufacture  of  parts  of  clocks 
for  other  concerns.  In  1841  he  came 
to  Winsted  and  with  others  bought  the 
Riley  Whiting  Clock  Works  on  the  his- 
toric site  of  the  Doolittle  Mill.  Nearly 
a  half  century  later  he  died,  having  built 
the  largest  business  in  Winsted,  and 
having  amassed  a  large  fortune.  He  left 
the  greater  part  of  it  to  do  good  for  the 
town  in  which  he  lived. 

The  educational  awakening  of  Winsted 
was  also  helped  in  1874  by  Mrs.  Delia 
FJlen  Rockwell  Beardsley,  widow  of  El- 
liott Beardsley,  who  gave  into  the  hands 
of  trustees  $10,000  for  the  founding  of  a 
library.  For  twenty-five  years  the 
books  were  in  a  pleasant  room  in  the 
Beardsley  building.  Before  his  death  in 
(897,  the  late  Jenison  J.  Whiting  began 
llie  construction  of  the  Memorial  Li- 
brary. The  building  was  completed  af- 
ter his  death  by  Mrs.  Whiting,  and  with 
the  lot  on  which  it  stands,  representing 
.1  total  outlay  of  about  $20,000,  was 
;_,nven  to  the  town  for  the  reception  of 
libraries.     The  Beardsley  Library,  whose 


funds  had  been  augmented  by  a  gift  of 
$1,000  from  Miss  Martha  Beardsley  at 
her  death,  and  by  $600  given  by  Rufus 
E.  Holmes  of  Winsted,  was  placed  in 
the  building.  The  town  then  voted  an 
appropriation  of  $1,500  annually,  to  meet., 
with  other  expenses,  those  for  which  a 
small  fee  had  been  charged,  and  the 
books  in  the  library  were  made  free  to 
the   public. 

Standing  on  the  summit  of  a  hill  in 
the  center  of  Winsted  is  a  square  tower 
of  native  gray  rock.  On  the  top  is  a 
massive  figure  of  a  soldier.  The  lines 
of  the  tower  are  simple  but  graceful. 
The  whole  gives  an  effect  of  great 
beauty  and  is  the  most  striking  struc- 
ture in  the  town.  It  is  Winsted's  tribute 
to  the  soldier  dead  of  the  Civil  War. 
On  tablets  in  the  tower  are  inscribed  the 
names  of  those  who  died  for  the  Union. 
This  impressive  and  unique  memorial 
was  made  possible  by  money  raised  in 
various  ways  and  by  many  contributors, 
prominent  among  them  being  Henry 
Gay  and  Mrs.  Maria  Brown. 

On  another  hill-top,  less  than  a  half- 
mile  from  Memorial  Park  and  the  Sol- 
diers' Monument,  is  another  edifice  e- 
rected  through  money  furnished  in  great 
part  by  public-spirited  individuals,  —  and 
the  Litchfield  County  Hospital  of  Win- 
chester, opened  in  1902,  is  proving  one 
of  the  most  beneficent  institutions  in 
northwestern  Connecticut.  The  grounds 
on  which  the  building  stands  and  $2,500 
additional,  were  given  by  Mrs.  Julia  A. 
Batcheller.  Mrs.  Maria  Brown  left  by 
her  will  $5,000  for  furnishing  a  hospital; 
the  late  Frederick  B.  Griswold  oequeath- 
ed  a  fund  of  $40,000  to  become  available 
in  the  future,  and  Mrs.  Mary  B.  Mix 
gave,  by  her  will,  $8,000.  Two  unknown 
donors  have  given  $5,000  each  for  the 
founding  of  free  beds,  and  many  persons 
yet  living  have  contributed  amounts 
ranging  from  $ioo  to  $2,500  each. 

A  mile  away  from  the  hospital,  on  the 
Green  in  luist  Winsted,  is  the  Memorial 
Fountain,  given  by  Mrs.  Mary  Ann 
niake   Mitchell. 

There  has  been  purposely  left  for  the 
last    in    this    recital,   a    legacy   which    has 


WINSTED— DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN  593 


RESIDENCE  OF  DR.  SAI^MON  G.  HOWD 


RECEPTION  HALL  IN  RESIDENCE  OF  DR.  SALMON  G.  HOWD 


594         U'INSTED— DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


opened  for  the  pleasure  and  recreation 
of  the  people  the  remarkable  natural 
beauty  of  Winsted.  Forbidding  as  the 
wilderness  might  have  seemed  for  the 
building  of  a  city  when  the  forests  were 
unbroken  and  trackless,  it  has  become 
of  the  utmost  beauty  today.  The  be- 
quest by  Harvey  Wakefield  of  $10,000 
to  the  town  of  Winchester  for  any  pub- 
lic use  desired,  was  devoted  by  vote  of 
the  town  to  building  a  driveway  around 
Highland  Lake.  As  soon  as  the  road 
was  finished  the  erection  of  summer  cot- 
tages began,  and  this  movement  was  ac- 
celerated by  the  construction  of  a 
branch  electric  railway  to  the  eastern 
shore.  The  "Boulevard"  and  the  "Park" 
have  now  become  the  great  summer 
pleasure   resorts   of   Winsted. 

Where,  one  hundred  and  thirty-five 
years  ago,  David  Austin  looked  upon  a 
lonely  lake,  along  whose  borders  an  oc- 
casional red-skinned  Indian  stole  in  and 
out  in  search  of  game  or  fish,  losing 
sometimes  an  arrow  head,  now  the  only 
memento  of  his  presence,  —  the  sum- 
mer visitor  of  today  views  a  scene  of 
gayety;  watches  moving  panoramas  of 
boats  ;  hears  sounds  of  music,  and 
through  the  foliage,  where  the  Indian 
skulked  clad  in  rude  garments,  catches 
sight  of  the  summer  girl  arrayed  in  all 
her  daintiness. 

On  a  tablet  set  in  the  rock  of  a  high 
ledge  beside  the  road  on  the  west  shore, 
is  this  inscription:  "A  tribute  of  remem- 
brance to  Harvey  Wakefield,  a  citizen  of 
Winsted,  whose  generosity  enabled  the 
town  to  provide  this  beautiful  lakeside 
drive,  1887."  Mr.  Wakefield  was  born 
in  Colebrook,  September  18,  1802,  and 
died   July   24,    1884. 

Our  story  is  almost  ended,  and  yet 
little  of  what  might  be  written  of  Win- 
sted has  been  told.  It  is  the  home  of 
patriotism.  Rose  Terry  Cooke,  in  her 
glowing  description  of  "Mytown"  in 
Harper's,  of  October,  1877,  bespeaks  its 
spirit.  Winchester's  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution  may  well  be  proud 
of  their  town's  record.  Says  Mr.  Boyd, 
"Our  infant  town  had  her  representa- 
tions at  Ticonderoga,  Bunker  Hill,  Que- 


bec, Long  Island,  Saratoga,  and  many 
other  battlefields.  .  .  .  Scarcely  a  ves- 
tige is  found  (on  the  muster  and  pay- 
rolls) of  the  service  of  drafted  militia  re- 
peatedly called  out  from  Litchfield  coun- 
ty to  Danbury,  Horse  Neck,  Long  Island, 
Peekskill,  and  other  points  on  the  North 
river  during  the  long  protracted  struggle 
for  the  possession  of  the  Highlands. 
Probably  not  an  able-bodied  man  of  the 
town  failed  of  being  called  out  more  than 
once   on   this   harassing  duty." 

And  to  this  summary  of  the  days  of 
'76,  might  be  added  Mr.  Boyd's  vivid 
account  of  the  effect  in  Winsted,  made 
by  the  announcement  of  the  news  of  the 
firing  on  Fort  Sumpter  in  1861,  and  the 
long  and  honorable  record  of  Winches- 
ter's part  in  the  Civil  War. 

There  are  records  other  than  those 
of  war  where  names  will  be  found  which 
shed  lustre  on  the  town.  John  Boyd, 
Secretary  of  State  from  1859  to  1861; 
William  S.  Holabird,  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor from  1842  to  1844 ;  Augustus  H. 
Fenn,  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Connecticut  from  1893  to  his  death  in 
1897;  and  Lorrin  A.  Cooke,  Governor  of 
the  State  from  1898  to  1900;  —  are  a- 
mong  those  who  have  been  politically- 
honored. 

Of  the  literary  world,  Edmund  C. 
Stedman  and  Rose  Terry  Cooke  have 
lived  and  written  in  Winsted,  as  have 
also  such  newspaper  men  as  Thomas 
AI.  Clarke,  Stephen  A.  Hubbard,  and 
Theodore    F.   Vaill. 

But  finall}',  to  all  these  human  inter- 
ests that  invest  the  town,  there  is  added 
the  charm  of  a  marvellous  scenery  which 
vests  like  a  halo  upon  varied  events. 
The  new  life  of  the  springtime,  bursting 
from  field  and  bush,  has  made  the  ser- 
mon of  the  minister  a  sanctified  mes- 
sage of  love  and  hope;  the  grandeur  of 
a  winter  tempest  among  the  rugged  hills 
has  nerved  the  physician  to  fight  and 
win  from  death  itself.  Drives  through 
woodland  roads  when  foilage  was  gor- 
geous with  burning  color,  have  left  bright 
reminiscences,  and  the  romance  of  even- 
ings on  the  lake  —  of  the  moonlight  and 
the     rippling    water  —  lingers     in    many 


WINSr ED— DEVELOPMENT  OF  AN  IDEAL  TOWN 


595 


memories.  For  all  who  live  and  toil  in 
this  town  of  the  hills,  there  are  notes 
of  joy  which  come  from  nature  in  her 
gladdest     form,     and     from     "the     great 


paeon  of  Being  that  nature  chants — notes 
in  the  divine  diapason  of  life  —  of  life 
singing  its  cosmic  song." 


NOTE— Since  this  article  was  submitted  to  the  publishers,  Miss  Amanda  E.  Church,  a  native  of 
Winsted,  who  lived  all  her  life  in  the  house  where  she  was  born,  has  died  at  the  age  of  eighty 
years,  leaving  an  estate  valued  at  over  $10,000  to  the  Beardsley  I^ibrary 


THE  FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL  HISTORY 

OF  WINSTED 

MANUFACTURING— BANKING—  BUSINESS  IN- 
TERESTS—WITH  HISTORICAL  SKETCHES 
OF  THEIR  PROMOTERS— WRITTEN  IN  COIv- 
IvABORATlON    WITH    ROBERT    S.    HULBERT 

BY 

EDWARD  BAILEY  EATON 


IN  the  preceding  sketch  of  the  gen- 
eral development  of  Winsted, 
many  details  of  its  progress  and 
industries  have  necessarily  been 
omitted,  and  yet  material  prosperity  is 
possibly  the  most  fascinating  phase  of 
history. 

The  Winsted  of  today,  risen  from  a 
rocky  wilderness,  has  about  10,000  in- 
habitants and  an  assessment  list  of  $5,- 
000,000.  It  is  the  center  of  trade  of  over 
500  square  miles  of  territory,  lies  at  the 
junction  of  two  railroads,  and  is  con- 
nected with  its  nearest  large  neighbor. 
Torrington,  ten  miles  away,  by  an  elec- 
tric  railway. 

It  has  what  is  probably  one  of  the 
finest  water  supplies  in  New  England, 
a  well-equipped  fire  department  and  low 
insurance  rates.  It  is  lighted  by  gas  and 
electricity,  supplied  from  large  modern 
plants,  the  one  producing  electricity  be- 
ing situated  at  the  romantic  falls  of  the 
\_^  Tunxis,  about  three  miles  from  the  Bor- 
ough. It  has  also  two  telephone  sys- 
tems, supplying  about  one  telephone  to 
every  ten  persons,  and  the  manufactories 


v^ 


Photo  by  Mrs.  Alice  Doughty  Sanford 


REMAINS  OF  THE  FIRST  FORGE  IN 

WINCHESTER 

Built  about  1795  by  Jenkins  &  Boyd— Old  water 
wheel  is  all  that  remained  twelve  years  ago 


596 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


t—T. 


^^. 


'r,;i?^ 


From  painiing  by  Mrs.  Aiice  Doughty  Sanford 
THE  LAST  FORGE  IN  WINCHESTER 


^ 

:         ■ 

1  , 

1>^ 

A    SK*.    ■ 

'" 

-.■■ 

1 

■PP||J1" 

5^w^ 

Jimm 

urtijlp 

Known  as  the  Timothy  Hulbert  Forge— Built  about  1803  by  the  Rockwell   Bros.— Torn   down   about 
fifteen  years  ago 


of  Winsted  turn  out  probably  over  four 
million  dollars  worth  of  products  in  a 
year. 

In  the  progress  of  this  manufacturing 
may  be  traced  the  evolution  of  the  me- 
chanical arts.  There  has  been  a  mar- 
velous change  from  the  primitive  meth- 
ods of  years  ago  to  the  present  facilities 
for  supplying  the  demands  of  a  world's 
trade,  and  as  the  history  of  manufact- 
uring is  largely  a  narration  of  individual 
success,  this  chapter  of  progress  must 
be   somewhat   biographical. 

In  Mr.  Hulbert's  article  it  is  said  that 
the  early  part  of  the  last  century  might 
be  called  the  "Iron  Age"  of  Winsted. 
Besides  the  large  output  of  refined  iron 
and  scythes,  there  had  been  made  in  the 
town,  before  i860,  from  iron  and  steel. 
the  following  products:  Nails,  by  Jesse 
Byington,  in  1810,  who,  during  the  War 
of  1812,  "employed  more  men  as  cutters 
and  headers,  than  were  employed  by  any 


other  branch  of  business  in  the  place;" 
axes,  whose  manufacture  was  introduced 
by  Elizur  Hinsdale  about  1804;  iron  wire, 
the  drawing  of  which  from  rods  was  a 
prosperous  business  near  the  present 
clock  shop  about  1812,  and  was  carried 
on  by  Samuel  and  Luther  Hoadley  and 
James  Boyd;  hay  and  manure  forks, 
made  about  the  same  time  by  hand  in 
several  shops;  hoes,  shovels  and  car- 
penters' tools,  the  making  of  which  was 
.started  about  1828  by  Samuel  Boyd  on 
the  south  side  of  Mad  river;  washers, 
nuts  and  bolts,  made  by  the  Clifton  Mill 
Co.,  which  succeeded  him;  table  cutlery, 
manufactured  first  by  the  Eagle  Co.,  on 
the  site  where  the  T.  C.  Richards  Co. 
now  stands;  pocket  cutlery,  made  first 
by  Thompson  &  Gascoign  in  1853,  the 
business  being  developed  into  the  pres- 
ent Empire  Knife  Co.;  augurs,  which 
were  manufactured  from  1853  to  i860  by 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


597 


the  Winsted  Augur  Co.,  where  the  Em- 
pire Knife  Company's  works  are  now 
situated;  carriage  axles,  in  the  manufact- 
ure of  which  Reuben  Cook  &  Sons  em- 
barked about  1840;  shovels,  tongs  and 
other  fire  irons,  which  were  made,  about 
1854,  where  the  Woodruff  Feed  Mills 
now  ^tand,  the  business  being  soon  dis- 
continued, as  Mr.  Boyd  rather  naively 
remarks,  because  the  concern  "lacked 
capital,  energy  and  business  skill;"  join- 
ers' tools,  made  by  the  Winsted  Plane 
Co.  for  a  few  years  from  1851  on  the  site 
now  occupied  by  the  Strong  Mfg.  Co., 
and  finally  pins,  which  have  gone  out 
from  Winsted  in  millions  upon  millions 
since  the  Hartford  Pin  Co.,  the  pred- 
ecessors of  the  New  England  Pin  Co., 
began  making  them  in  1852.  In  addition 
to  these  articles  of  wrought  iron  and 
steel,  several  foundries  for  making  cast 
iron  products  were  in  existence  at  dif- 
ferent times,  turning  out  clock  bells, 
stoves,  plows,  and  a  great  variety  of  oth- 
er castings. 


There  were  other  important  industries, 
however,  in  the  town  in  the  early  days; 
grist  mills,  two  of  which  have  been  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding  article,  and  saw 
mills  necessarily  followed  closely  the 
early  settlers.  The  first  saw  mill  is  be- 
lieved to  have  been  built  in  Winchester 
Center,  near  the  Hurlbut  Cemetery. 
Others  were  built  in  different  parts  of 
the  town.  Lumber  and  various  wooden 
articles  including  oars,  wooden  bowls  and 
cheese  boxes  were  made.  Tanneries  on 
a  large  scale  were  started  in  1802  by  two 
colonels,  Hosea  Hinsdale  and  James 
Sheperd,  and  have  been  always  since 
then  important  industries  of  the  town. 
The  manufacture  of  woolen  cloth  was 
several  times  undertaken,  but  appears 
not  to  have  been  conducted  long  or 
profitably.  In  1807,  Samuel  and  Luther 
Hoadley  and  Riley  Whiting  began  the 
manufacture  of  clocks,  and  that  business, 
under  different  owners,  has  continued 
for  nearly  a  century  and  has  become  the 
largest  manufacturing  industry  of  the 
town. 


From  sketch  by  Mrs.  Alice  Doughty  Sanford 
THE  OLD  THAYER  SCYTHE  SHOP  ON  MAD  RIVER 
Built  in  1831  and  operated  successfully  for  over  fifty  years 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


599 


A  brief  history  of  this  large  concern 
may  be  interesting.  When  the  Hoad- 
leys  and  Mr.  Whiting  started  the  busi- 
ness they  made  wooden  clocks.  "The 
machinery  was  carried  by  a  tin  wheel 
on  an  upright  iron  shaft.  The  cog 
wheels  were  of  cherry,  the  pinion  was  of 
ivy  (or  calmia)  and  the  face  of  white- 
wood,  all  home  products.  These,  with  a 
very  little  wire,  a  very  little  steel,  brass, 


The  buildings  have  a  floor  space  of  over 
90,000  square  feet.  The  rooms  are  filled 
with  the  most  modern  and  improved 
machinery.  About  500  operatives  are. 
employed,  turning  out  2,000  clocks  each 
day.  These  clocks  are  bewildering  in 
their  styles  and  sizes.  They  are  of  all 
prices,  from  the  cheapest  to  the  most 
e.Kpensive,  and  it  is  a  long  step  from  the 
crude     modern    affairs     of     1807    to    the 


tin  and  cordage   made  up   the   staple  of       beautiful  objects  of  the  clock-making  art 


material  in  the  old  one-day  shelf  clock 
which  they  produced  and  scattered  all 
over  the  United  States  and  Canada." 

Luther  Hoadley  died  in  1813  and  Sam- 
uel entered  the  army  in  the  same  year, 
retiring  from  the  business.  Mr.  Whit- 
ing enlarged  the  business,  tore  down 
the  historic  grist  mill,  built  new  shops 
and  began  making  eight-day  clocks.  He 
died  in  1835.  Lucius  Clarke  bought  the 
business  in  1841,  the  year  that  William 
L.  Gilbert  became  identified  with  it.  It 
was  then  carried  on  under  the  name  of 
Clarke,  Gilbert  &  Co.,  and  W.  L.  Gil- 
bert, until  its  incorporation  as  The  Gil- 
bert Manufacturing  Company  in  1866. 
It  was  reorganized  in  1871  as  the  Wil- 
liam L.  Gilbert  Clock  Company.  The 
old  building  built  by  Mr.  Whiting  was 
burned  down  in  1870.  It  was  replaced 
by  two  large  three-story  brick  buildings 
which  have  been  added  to  at  intervals. 
In  1902  a  handsome  new  office  building, 
fronting  on  North  Main  street,  was  e- 
rected.  The  present  extensive  plant,  an 
illustration  of  which  is  presented,  is  a 
striking   example   of   industrial   progress. 


which   go   out   from   the   factory  in    1904. 

Steadily,  for  nearly  a  century,  the  con- 
cern has  extended  its  trade,  until  now 
it   has  the  world  foi    its  market. 

The  company  has  established  sales- 
rooms in  New  York,  Chicago,  San  Fran- 
cisco, Philadelphia,  Montreal,  London 
and  Rio  Janeiro.  Besides  the  sale  of 
these  goods  throughout  the  United 
States,  large  shipments  are  made  to 
China,  Japan,  South  Africa,  Australia, 
South  America,  and  to  a  great  many 
European  countries,  particularly  to  Eng- 
land. It  would  be  difficult  to  find  an 
illustration  more  typical  of  all  that  is 
involved  in  the  building  up  of  a  great 
manufacturing  industry,  than  is  afforded 
by  the  history  of  this  establishment, 
which  has  been  identified  so  long  with 
Winsted, 

The  large  interests  of  the  concern  are 
at  present  managed  by  a  board  of  di- 
rectors composed  of  James  G.  Woodruff, 
George  B.  Owen,  Lyman  R.  Norton,  B. 
F.  Marsh  and  Henry  Gay,  and  by  the 
officers,  J.  G.  Woodruff,  president  and 
treasurer;  George  B.  Owen,  vice-presi- 
dent and  general  manager;  E.  S.  Brown, 
secretary,  and  Arthur  W.  Owen,  assist- 
ant  treasurer. 


6oo 


W I NSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


Next  to  the  clock  company,  in  order 
of  age,  of  the  present  manufacturing 
concerns  of  Winsted,  is  a  representative 
of  the  tanning  industry,  The  George 
Dudley  &  Son   Company. 

In  the  first  half  of  the  last  century, 
there  were,  around  Winsted,  several 
small  tanneries  for  the  tanning  and  fin- 
ishing of  shoe  leather.  The  tanning  was 
all  done  in  still  vats,  the  skins  being 
poled  around  by  hand.  When  tanned 
they  were  made  up  into  shoes  in  the 
same  shop. 

It  was  in  this  way  that  George  Dudley 
started  in  the  leather  business  in  183T. 
He  had  a  small  tannery  on  the  New 
Hartford  road,  near  what  is  known  as 
the  Kellogg  place.  He  remained  there, 
however,  only  one  year,  buying,  in  1832 
of  Alanson  Loomis,  the  tannery  in  Win- 
sted now  called  the  "Home  Tannery," 
and  soon  after  took  up  the  tanning  of 
sheep  and  calf  skins  and  English  splits 
in  hemlock  bark  for  book  purposes. 

It  was  at  about  this  time  that  he  gave 
up  the  old  method  of  tanning  and  made 
use   of   the   paddle    wheel,   which   is    the 


GEORGE    DUDLEY— PIONEER    IN   THE    TAN- 
NING BUSINESS  IN  WINSTED 

method   used   at   the   present   time.      The 
skins    are    put    in    a    vat    filled    with    the 


III  m  l,y  F.  11.  DeMars 
THE  "HOME  TANNERY"  OF  THE  CEORGE  DUDLEY  &  SON  COMPANY 
Showing  great  piles  of  hemlock  bark  stacked  in  immense  quantities  in  the  yard  of  the  tannery 


JVINSTHD— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


6oi 


Photo  by  F.  H.  DeMirs 
THE  "ROCKWELL  TANNERY"  OF  THE  GEORGE  DUDLEY  &  SON  COMPANY 


liquor  from  hemlock  bark.  A  paddle 
wheel  being  set  in  motion  makes  a  cur- 
rent in  the  liquor  which  keeps  the  skins 
constantly  in  motion.  By  this  method 
the  old  fashioned  and  arduous  work  of 
hand  stirring  was  done  away  with.  An- 
other result  was  the  shortening  of  the 
length  of  time  necessary  for  the  tanning 
of  the  skins. 

In  1853,  Mr.  Dudley,  finding  that  his 
business  had  outgrown  his  capacity,  tore 
down  his  old  tannery  and  rebuilt  it 
practically  as  it  stands  today. 

In  1867  he  took  his  son,  George  Dud- 
ley, Jr.,  into  partnership,  when  the  busi- 
ness which  had  been  condvicted  under 
the  name  of  George  Dudley  was  now 
done  as  George  Dudley  &  Son. 

The  business  grew  rapidly.  For  years 
they  supplied  the  United  States  govern- 
ment with  all  the  sheep  and  calf  skins 
used  in  their  bindery  at  Washington. 
On  account  of  the  increasing  demand  for 
their  leather,  it  became  necessary  to 
buy  more  tanneries,  among  them  being 
what  was  known  as  the  "Woodruflf  Tan- 
nery" on  North  Main  street,  and  two  in 
West   Norfolk,   Conn.      Of   these,   one   in 


West  Norfolk  is  still  in  use,  the  rest 
having  been  dismantled. 

In  1882,  Mr.  Dudley  and  his  son  having 
both  died,  it  became  necessary  to  in- 
corporate the  business,  since  which  time 
the  business  has  been  carried  on  under 
the  firm  name  of  The  George  Dudley  & 
Son  Co. 

In  1888  the  firm  bought  of  John  T. 
Rockwell  the  tannery  in  Winsted  which 
his  brother  and  himself  had  operated  un- 
der the  firm  name  of  J.  S.  &  J.  T.  Rock- 
well. 

Up  to  1895  the  whole  attention  of  the 
company  had  been  centered  on  the  man- 
ufacture of  book  leather.  In  that  year, 
however,  a  new  branch  was  taken  up, 
the  tanning  and  preparing  of  sheep  skins 
for  use  in  organs,  piano  players,  etc. 
This  branch  has  grown  to  such  propor- 
tions that  practically  all  of  the  output 
of  the  "Rockwell"  tannery  is  used  in 
supplying  the  demands  of  this  trade. 

The  company  has  now  three  tanneries 
in  constant  operation,  two  in  Winsted 
and   one   in   West   Norfolk,   Conn. 

The  present  officers  are:  George  E. 
Dudley,  president;  Dudley  S.  Vaill,  treas- 
urer, and  Andrew  Fox,  secretary. 


602 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


ElvIrlOT  BEARDSI^EY 

The  Empire  Knife  Company  is  an  il- 
lustration of  those  industries  established 
a  half-century  ago.  Nevertheless,  this 
company,  manufacturing  pocket  cutlery, 
is  one  of  the  oldest  manufacturers  of  this 
class  of  goods  in  the  United  States,  in 
fact,  they  are  the  third  oldest  concern, 
and  it  is  something  over  50  years  since 
the  first  pocket  knives  were  made  here 
in  Winsted.  In  1852,  two  Englishmen, 
Thompson  &  Gascoigne,  came  to  Win- 
sted and  commenced  to  make  pocket 
knives,  and  an  old  publication  of  the 
Winsted  Herald  has  an  advertisement 
showing   that   the    firm    of    Beardsley    & 


JAMES  R.  Al,VORD 

Alvord,  country  merchants  at  that  time, 
acted  as  the  agents  for  them,  selling  their 
product.  It  was  in  1856  that  the  Empire 
Knife  Company  came  into  existence, 
when  Elliot  Beardsley,  who  was  a  man- 
ufacturer of  the  Beardsley  scythes,  and 
James  R.  Alvord,  who  was  his  partner  in 
the  mercantile  business  of  Beardsley  & 
Alvord,  took  up  the  business  of  these 
two  Englishmen,  and  formed  the  part- 
nership of  the  Empire  Knife  Co.,  the 
business  has  been  in  the  Beardsley  and 
Alvord  families  from  that  day  to  this. 
In  1890  this  company  was  merged  into 
a  joint  stock  company,  with  the  follow- 


f'*'-'*^^J 


THE  PI.ANT  OF  THE  EMPIRE  KNIFE  COMPANY  ON  MAD  RIVER 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


603- 


ing  officers,  who  are  today  managing 
the  business:  Charles  L.  Alvord,  presi- 
dent; George  S.  Alvord,  vice-president; 
and  S.  Landon  Alvord,  secretary  and 
treasurer. 

This  company  employs  over  one  hun- 
dred hands,  made  up  of  the  most  skilled 
workmen,  and  their  product  is  very  wide- 
ly distributed,  the  goods  being  largely 
used  in  the  finest  city  trade,  where  the 
competition  is  keenest  with  the  highest 
grade  of  English  goods. 

The  factory  of  this  company,  for  thir- 
ty years,  was  on  Lake  street,  water 
power  of  the  first  factory  coming  from 
Highland  Lake,  but  in  1880  the  old  table 
cutlery  factory  property,  the  first  water 
power  on  the  Norfolk  road,  was  pur- 
chased, and  the  works  were  removed  to 
that  point,  where,  in  new  and  modern 
buildings,  thoroughly  equipped  for  this 
business,  the  company  is  now  manufac- 
turing their  well-known  brand  of  Empire 
knives. 

The  earliest  factory  work  carried  on 
in  Winsted  was  the  making  of  scythes. 
The  first  scythe  shop  in  the  town  (and 
the  third  in  the  country)  was  on  the 
same  site  where  the  only  one  re- 
maining in  the  town  is  now  situated,  and 
the  concern  which  operates  it  —  The 
Winsted  Manufacturing  Company  —  has 
also  the  distinction  of  being  the  oldest 
organized  company  in  the  town. 

The  organization  of  the  Winsted  Man- 
ufacturing Company  was  efifected  Aug- 
ust 22,  1835,  with  the  following  officers 
(all  of  whom  are  now  deceased) :  Direct- 
ors, Theron  Rockwell,  E.  Grove  Law- 
rence, Lyman  Wakefield,  Jonathan  E. 
Hoyt,  William  S.  Holabird;  president 
Theron  Rockwell;  secretary,  John  Camp, 
treasurer,  Lyman  Case.  Mr.  Camp  was 
the  active  manager  from  the  organiza- 
tion until  his  death  in  1862.  Joseph  H. 
Norton  succeeded  Mr.  Camp,  August  30. 
1862,  as  agent  and  secretary,  and  under 
Mr.  Norton's  efficient  management  a 
large  and  profitable  business  was  carried 
on.  Allen  H.  Norton,  son  of  Joseph  H., 
was  elected  secretary  in  1875,  and  during 
the  latter  years  of  his  father's  life,  was 
the  active  manager.  Joseph  H.  Norton 
died  in  1895,  and  his  son,  Allen  H.  Nor- 


ton, in  1901.  The  strict  integrity  and 
honesty  in  all  business  dealings  which 
has  characterized  the  management  of 
this  company  since  its  organization,  is 
a  record  of  which  those  who  come  after 
them  and  assume  the  future  burdens 
may  be  proud. 

Since  Mr.  Norton's  death  the  business 
has  been  carried  on  by  its  present  offi- 
cers: President,  Lyman  R.  Norton;  treas- 
urer, Arthur  L.  Clark;  secretary,  George 
H.  Raidart. 

One  of  the  most  conspicuous  buildings 
that  the  visitor  notes  on  his  arrival  in 
Winsted,  is  the  magnificent  plant  of  the 
New  England  Pin  Company,  situated  on 
Bridge  street  immediately  opposite  the  -^ 
Naugatuck  railroad  station.  With  an  im- 
posing frontage  of  over  100  feet  on 
Bridge  street,  the  handsome  new  build- 
ing, five  stories  in  height,  erected  in  1901, 
is  a  testimonial  to  progressive  industry 
in  Winsted. 

This  business  was  established  by  J.  G. 
Wetmore,  and  incorporated  under  the 
present  name  in  1854,  with  a  capital  of 
$100,000.  Since  its  inception,  a  career 
of  success  has  marked  the  history  of  the 
enterprise  which  is  today  one  of  the 
largest  plants  in  Winsted. 

The  product  of  this  industry  is  pins 
of  many  varieties,  and  the  output  is  enor- 
mous, the  modern  machinery  of  the  plant 
turning  out  from  12,000,000  to  15,000,000 
pins  per  day,  equal  in  weight  to  about 
one  ton  of  solid  metal.  The  company  re- 
cently purchased  the  hair  pin  plant  of 
L.  E.  Warner  of  Oakville,  and  during  the 
past  year  has  practically  doubled  its 
capacity.  The  Winsted  Paper  Box  Com- 
pany is  owned  and  operated  by  the  New 
England  Pin  Company,  and  not  only 
manufacturers  the  boxes  used  by  the  lat- 
ter company,  but  supplies  many  of  the 
other  local  manufacturers. 

About  125  skilled  operatives  are  busily 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  the  shin- 
ing product  of  the  company  that  has  a 
market  not  only  in  this  country  but 
abroad. 

The  present  officers  of  the  company 
are:  George  W.  Curtis,  president;  Jay  E. 
Spaulding,  secretary,  treasurer  and  gen- 
eral manager,  and  George  F.  Drake,  as- 
sistant secretary. 


6o4 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


^ 


SUBSTANTIAI.  BUILDINGS  OF  THE  NEW  ENGLAND  PIN  COMPANY 


The  decade  of  the  Civil  War  with  the 
three  years  following,  to  the  panic  of 
1873,  was  a  time  of  great  prosperity  for 
Winsted  manufacturers  and  laid  the 
foundations  of  many  fortunes.  One  bus- 
iness only,  that  of  making  planters' 
hoes,  was  destroyed  by  the  war,  while 
several  new  concerns  were  started. 
Among  them  were  the  Strong  Manu- 
facturing Co.,  making  coffin  trimmings; 
the  business  now  known  as  the  Franklin 
Moore  Bolt  Co.,  started  by  Edward 
Clarke  and  the  late  Franklin  Moore;  the 
Henry  Spring  Co.,  making  carriage 
springs,  and  a  large  condensed  milk  fac- 
tory, organized  by  Gail  Borden  and 
others,  which  was  operated  from  1863 
to   1866. 

In  i860,  in  the  town  of  East  Hampton, 
Connecticut,  where  so  many  kinds  of 
bells  are  made  that  Edgar  Allen  Poe 
might   have    found    material    for   at   least 


one  more  stanza  if  he  had  lived  there, 
were  two  young  men,  who,  having  begun 
the  business  of  silver  plating  bells  for 
manufacturers  in  1856,  had  in  the  follow- 
ing four  years  added  to  it  the  making  of 
a  small  line  of  coffin  tacks,  screws  and 
handles  from  white  metal.  It  was  the 
beginning  of  the  more  extensive  business 
of  the  Strong  Manufacturing  Company 
of  Winsted.  For  several  years  there- 
after, in  East  Hampton,  the  firm  of 
Markham  &  Strong  carried  on  its  busi- 
ness, sometimes  under  the  direction-  of 
David  Strong,  sometiines  under  that  of 
his  brother,  Clark,  who  had  returned  to 
liis  home  in  East  Hampton  from  Mis- 
souri at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war, 
and  while  both  of  the  Strongs  were 
wearing  the  blue  in  the  service  of  their 
country,  it  was  entirely  under  the  man- 
agement  of  Mr.    Markham. 

In  1866  the  business  came  to  Winsted. 
The  Strong  Manufacturing  Company  was 
formed  and  David  Strong  was  author- 
ized   to    buy    out    Markham    &    Strong, 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


605 


First  Factory  Building  of  The  Strong  Manufacturing  Company     Where  the  company  began  its 

career  in  Winsted  in  1866 


including  the  interest  of  Bevin  Brothers, 
who  were  silent  partners.  The  original 
stockholders  of  th€  company  which  was 
formed  were  William  L.  Gilbert,  Nor- 
mand  Adams,  A.  L.  Weirs,  David 
Strong,  Clark  Strong,  Charles  B.  Hal- 
lett,  Joseph  H.  Norton,  Ezra  Baldwin 
and  Theophilus  Baird.  The  first  presi- 
dent of  the  company  was  William  L. 
Gilbert,  who  held  the  office  for  three 
years.  Normand  Adams  was  then  presi- 
dent for  one  year  and  in  1871  David 
Strong  was  elected  to  the  office  and  has 
held  it  since  then  to  the  present  time. 
In  the  first  year  of  the  company  Clark 
Strong  was  secretary  and  A.  L.  Weirs, 
treasurer.  From  1867  to  1870  Clark 
Strong  was  secretary  and  treasurer. 
In  the  latter  year  he  was  made  agent,  an 
office  which  he  held  to  1877,  the  year 
before  his  death,  when  Henry  G.  Colt 
succeeded  to  the  office,  rendering  effic- 
ient and  successful  service,  dying  on 
November  2i&t,  1897.  He  was  succeeded 
in  turn  bj'  Luman  C.  Colt,  who  still  holds 
the  ofhcc.     In   1870,  Harvey  L.  Roberts, 


who  for  three  years  had  been  bookkeeper 
for  the  company,  took  the  office  of  sec- 
retary and  treasurer  and  has  retained  it 
till  the  present  time.  The  present  board 
of  directors  consists  of  the  above  three 
mentioned  officers,  including  also  Lester 
C.  Strong  and  Frederick  C.  Strong. 

Such  has  been  the  personnel  of  the 
management  of  the  company  during  the 
nearly  forty  years  of  its  life  in  Winsted. 
Few  concerns  see  less  changes  in  an 
equal  time. 

The  growth  of  the  business  was  rapid. 
During  the  first  few  years  David  Strong 
carried  on  under  his  own  name  the 
manufacture  of  burial  robes  and  casket 
linings,  selling  the  goods  to  undertakers, 
including  in  his  sales  the  products  of  the 
Strong  Manufacturing  Company.  In 
1872  his  business  was  consolidated  with 
that  of  the  company. 

While  the  goods  made  by  the  Strong 
Manufacturing  Company  are  of  the  kind 
necessarily  associated  with  sombre  re- 
flections, many  of  the  articles  are  in 
themselves    of    great    beauty.      The    first 


6o6 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


DAVID   STRONG 
Founder  of  the  Strong  Manufacturing  Company 

coffin  handles  made  by  Markham  & 
Strong  were  plain  drop  handles  of  white 
metal.     Later  these  handles  were  silver 


plated  and,  as  time  passed  on,  the  few 
comparatively  simple  handles  gave  way 
to  a  greatly  extended  line  in  which  the 
designer's  art  has  vied  with  the  plater's 
in  producing  the  most  elaborate  and  ele- 
gant articles.  In  every  department  of 
the  company  the  men  in  charge  are  mas- 
ters of  their  business.  The  products  of 
the  factory  range  widely  in  cost.  They 
are  seen  on  the  caskets  of  the  lowliest 
and  have  been  on  those  which  held  the 
mortal  remains  of  many  of  the  most 
prominent  men  of  the  country.  When 
General  Grant  died  in  1885,  the  casket 
handles,  solid  silver,  and  the  name  plate 
of  solid  gold  were  furnished  by  this  com- 
pany. It  supplied  also  the  handles  and 
plate  for  the  caskets  of  ex-President 
Harrison  and   Cornelius   Vanderbilt. 

The  factory  of  the  Strong  Manufactur- 
ing Company  is  situated  in  the  heart  of 
the  business  district  of  the  east  part  of 
the  Borough.  When  the  company  was 
first  organized,  it  occupied  a  small  wood- 
en building,  but  in  1873  a  new  brick  fac- 
tory was  built.  This  was  added  to  in 
1886  and  the  buildings  now  form  one  of 
the  most  substantial  of  Winsted's  fac- 
tories. 


Photo  by  K.  T.  Sheldon 
PI^ANT  OF  THE  STRONG  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY  AS    IT  APPEARS  TODAY 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


607 


Of  the  manufacturing  industries  which 
have  been  started  within  the  last  quarter 
of  a  century,  the  Winsted  Hosiery  Com- 
pany may  be  taken  as  a  typical  concern. 
This  company  was  organized  in  1882 
for  the  manufacture  of  hosiery  by  L.  W. 
Tiffany  and  W.  F.  Taylor  of  New  Hart- 
ford and  J.  S.  Watson  of  the  Norfolk 
and  New  Brunswick  Hosiery  Company, 
Norfolk. 

The  original  capitalization  was  $40,- 
000,  but  this  has  been  increased  from 
time  to  time  to  $200,000.  The  company 
began  business  in  the  small  wooden  fac- 
tory building  shown  in  the  accompany- 
ing illustration,  with  about  30  or  40 
hands.  Mr.  E.  B.  Gaylord  became  asso- 
ciated with  the  company  in  1885  as  as- 
sistant treasurer,  and  one  year  later,  on 
the  retirement  of  Mr.  Taylor,  was  ap- 
pointed  treasurer  and   general   manager. 

The  business  has  taken  rapid  strides 
in  its  progress  since  its  inception,  neces- 
sitating the  extensive  enlargement  of 
the  plant  that  is  indicated  in  the  illus- 
tration, where  about  300  operatives  now 
find  regular  employment  producing  an 
output  to  the  value  of  about  $600,000 
annually. 

The  new  and  handsome  buildings  ot 
the    Hosiery    Company,    equipped    with 


Origiual  Building  of  The  Winsted  Hosiery 
Company 

modern  machinery  and  deriving  the  mo- 
tive power  from  steam,  fittingly  represent 
recent  progress  in  manufacturing  lines. 
The  prosperity  which  has  attended  its 
operation  is  a  source  of  gratification  to. 
Winsted  people,  not  only  because  the 
manufacture  of  this  class  of  goods  adds 
so  much  to  the  earning  capacity  of  many 
families,  but  also  because  it  shows  that 
Winsted,  even  without  its  excellent 
water  power,  is  well  fitted  to  be  a  profit- 
able   manufacturing   center. 

The  present  officers  of  the  company 
are  David  Strong,  president,  and  E.  B. 
Gaylord,  secretary  and  treasurer. 


PRESENT   PIvANT  OF  THE  WINSTED  HOSIERY  COMPANY 

In  marked  contrast  to  above  illustration— Indicating  the  material  progress  of  the  company  in 

less  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  O. 


6o8 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


Photo  by  K.  T.  Sheldon 
PLANT  OF  THE  WINSTED  SILK  COMPANY  AND  THE  SALTER  SILK  COMPANY  AT  WINSTED 


In  1747,  Jonathan  Law,  governor  of 
Connecticut,  wore  the  first  coat  and 
stockings  made  of  New  England  silk, 
and  in  1750,  his  daughter  the  first  silk 
dress  made  from  domestic  material.  Not- 
withstanding all  the  efforts  made,  very 
little  raw  silk  is  now  produced  in  this 
country  at  a  profit.  The  opening  up  to 
commerce  of  the  ports  of  the  far  East, 
greatly  increased  the  supply  of  raw  silk 
available  for  Europe  and  America.  The 
United  States  today  is  one  of  the  princi- 
pal silk  manufacturing  countries,  with  a 
product  valued  at  over  $80,000,000  per 
annum,  and  with  the  growing  prosperity 
of  the  country  a  demand  has  been  stim- 
ulated that  now  places  the  United  States 
as  the  largest  consumer  of  manufactured 
silk. 

Winsted  has  been  recognized  in  the 
silk  industry  since  1874.  In  that  year 
the  business  of  the  present  Winsted  Silk 
Company  was  established  as  a  co-part- 
nership. In  January,  1883,  by  a  special 
act  of  the  General  Assembly,  a  charter 
was  granted,  the  company  being  incorpo- 
rated as  The  Winsted  Silk  Company,  with 
a    capital    of   $150,000.      The    Salter    Silk 


Company  has  since  become  a  constituent 
of  this  company.  The  present  officers  of 
The  Winsted  Silk  Company  are:  A.  H. 
Livermore,  president  and  treasurer;  E. 
P.  Wilcox,  secretary,  and  James  J.  Law- 
ler,   superintendent. 

The  Salter  Silk  Company  was  incorpo- 
rated under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,  in  February,  1894,  and  the  offi- 
cers are:  A.  H.  Livermore,  president  and 
treasurer;  A.  S.  Livermore,  secretary  and 
assistant  treasurer. 

The  plant  of  the  two  companies  is  sit- 
uated on  Munro  street  near  the  Mad 
river,  and  employs  about  175  operatives, 
mostly  girls,  exclusive  of  a  large  corps 
of  traveling  salesmen,  and  the  clerical 
force  of  the  various  offices  and  sales- 
rooms of  the  companies  in  New  York, 
Boston,  Chicago,  Detroit,  St.  Paul,  St. 
Louis,  and  Johnstown,  N.  Y. 

The  product  of  the  two  companies  is 
silk  threads  of  all  kinds,  consisting  of 
sewing  silks,  machine  twist,  embroidery 
silks  (of  all  the  different  varieties),  cro- 
chet silk,  knitting  silk,  and  purse  silk. 

In  addition  to  the  above  the  Salter 
Silk  Company  makes  a  specialty  of  Den- 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


609 


tal  Flosses,  both  waxed  and  plain,  for 
Dental  use  and  Toilet  purposes.  Salter's 
Dental  Floss  is  known  throughout  this 
country  and  in  many  parts  of  Europe, 
the  Company  manufacturing  fully  80  per 
cent,  of  the  entire  output  of  this  country, 
placing  it  on  the  market  largely  with  the 
dry  goods  stores  and  druggists  in  the 
form  of  spools,  and  also  in  dainty  fiat 
disks  or  bobbins  that  fit  the  purse  or 
pocket. 

The  most  recent  additions  to  the  man- 
ufacturing industries  of  Winsted,  have 
enlarged  still  more  the  great  variety  of 
its   products. 

The  Goodwin  &  Kintz  Company, 
whose  factory  is  situated  on  Rowley 
street,  manufactures  a  line  of  high  grade 
metal  goods.  This  company  was  incor- 
porated in  1897,  and  was  first  situated 
in  Shelton,  Conn.  In  1899  they  moved 
their  business  to  Winsted,  Conn.,  and 
purchased  the  factory  of  the  Winsted 
Clock  Co.,  on  North  Main  street.  The 
business  grew  rapidly  and  their  quarters 


soon  became  cramped.  In  1903  they  ac- 
quired the  factory  of  the  Winsted  Shoe 
Company,  and  added  thereto  two  modern 
brick  buildings.  They  now  have  a  plant 
thoroughly  up-to-date  in  manufacturing 
facilities,  and  have  lately  increased  their 
capital  stock  to  $50,000,  as  a  preliminary 
to  a  further  extension  of  their  business. 

They  devote-  particular  attention  to 
the  manufacture  of  clock  cases  and  clock 
materials,  also  small  novelty  clocks  in 
fine  Ormolu  gold,  and  produce  a  large- 
line  of  fine  m.etal  goods,  including  vases, 
candelabra,  mirror  plateaux,  gas  and 
electric  portables.  They  do  special  sheet 
metal  work  to  order  and  devote  particu- 
lar attention  to  the  production  of  prem- 
ium goods  for  trading  stamp  houses  and 
similar  concerns. 

The  officers  of  the  company  are  James 
G.  Woodruff,  president;  Clemens  Kintz, 
secretary;  and  Winslow  Goodwin,  treas- 
urer. The  directors  of  the  concern,  in 
addition  to  the  above,  are  E.  B.  Gaylord 
and   A.   W.   Owen. 


Photo  by  F.  H.  DeMars 


FACTORY  OF  THE  GOODWIN  &  KINTZ  COMPANY 


6io 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


The  series  of  articles  by  C.  A.  Quincy 
Norton,  on  "Lights  and  Lamps  of  Early 
New  England,"  now  appearing  in  The 
Connecticut  Magazine,  is  attracting 
widespread  attention,  evolving,  as  it 
does,  the  development  and  improvement 
in  the  methods  of  lighting  from  the  dark 
hour  when  the  first  flaring  brand  cast 
its  flickering,  smoky  rays  on  the  walls 
of  the  abode  of  some  prehistoric  cave- 
dweller,  down  to  the  present  time,  when 
chemists  and  inventors  are  striving  zeal- 
ously to  reach  a  perfection  (if  possible) 
in   illuminating  methods. 

"The  lamp,  in  some  form,  has  always 
been  a  necessity  in  the  active  life  of 
man,  and  has  been  the  means  of  length- 
ening his  career  on  earth.  So  when  we 
consider  how  much  of  the  world's  ad- 
vancement toward  the  realization  of  a 
higher  civilization  has  been  accomplish- 
ed by  the  aid  of  artificial  illumination, 
we  shall  comprehend  something  of  the 
importance  of  the  lamp  as  a  factor  in 
the  intellectual  and  material  growth  of 
mankind,"  says   Mr.   Norton. 

It  is  interesting  and  timely  to  note  at 
this  time,  that  here  in  Winsted  the  skill 
of  the  inventor  is  being  put  to  practical 
service  in  the  creation  of  a  portable 
house  light  which  it  appears  should  prove 
of  inestimable  value  in  lighting  methods. 
By  this  invention  it  becomes  possible 
for  the  lonely  dweller  on  the  hills  or  in 
the  small  towns  removed  from  the  pop- 
ulous centers,  to  have  an  illuminant 
equal  and  perhaps  better  than  is  afford- 
ed in  the  cities.  The  manufacture  of  the 
"Britelite"  acetylene  house  lamp  is  one 
that  should  more  and  more  give  Winsted 
a  widespread  reputation,  as  the  product 
of  the  manufacturer  is  placed  on  the 
market.  Acetylene  lighting  is  not  en- 
tirely new,  but  the  method  of  producing 
a  house  light  that  is  at  once  brilliant, 
non-explosive  and  automatic  in  action, 
is  the  element  of  value  which  the  par- 
ticular construction  of  this  lamp  make? 
possible. 

Under  spectroscopic  analysis  which 
unerringly  separates  the  rays,  is  reveal- 
ed the  fact  that  those  of  acetylene  gas 
are  almost  like  natural  rays.  The  "Brite- 
lite" lamp  will  stand  a  yet  severer  test; 
colors,      which      under      other      artificial 


lights  evade  discrimination,  may  be  read- 
ily and  truly  distinguished.  The  news- 
paper or  book  may  be  read  with  com- 
fort and  ease,  without  the  eye-strains  oc- 
casioned by  other  artificial  lights.  It  was 
my  privilege  to  be  shown  through  the 
plant  of  the  company  and  to  see  the 
lamps  under  tests.  The  quality  of  the 
light  and  the  mechanical  contrivances  in 
the  lamps  are  marvelous,  and  bespeak 
years  of  study  and  application  in  its  per- 
fection, which  has  also  required  the  ex- 
penditure of  nearly  $50,000  before  the 
first  lamp  was  placed  on  the  market. 


The  "  Brightlight" — A  Winsted  Product 

An  invaluable  quality  of  the  "Britelite" 
lamp  is  the  absolute  safety  in  its  use. 
It  is  built  under  the  supervision  of 
acetylene  experts  in  the  Winsted  fac- 
tory. The  system  of  generation  (carbide- 
feed)  is  recognized  by  the  leading  acety- 
lene authorities  as  being  at  once  practi- 
cal and  safe.  The  lamp  is  constructed  in 
accordance  with  the  rules  of  the  National 
Board  of  Eire  Underwriters,  was  tested 
and  approved  by  their  consulting  en- 
gineers, and  is  included  in  the  list  of 
permitted   devices   issued  by  them.     The 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


6ii 


practical  operation  of  the  "Britelite' 
lamp  is  simplicity  itself.  Its  mechanical 
devices  cannot  get  out  of  order.  The 
turning  of  a  bottom  releases  the  carbide 
which  drops  through  a  valve  into  the 
water  below,  producing  a  "cool  genera- 
tion." This  action  is  automatic.  When 
charged,  the  lamp  will  give  a  bright, 
steady  and  brilliant  light  for  ten  hours. 
It  is  designed  for  use  in  the  library,  re- 
ception room  and  parlor,  or  indeed  for 
any  room  in  the  house.  The  size  of  the 
flame  is  so  small  that  there  is  no  percept- 
ible heat  from  the  lamp.  It  can  be  turn- 
ed on  and  ofif  and  lighted  like  city  gas. 
When  turned  off  the  generation  ceases 
instantly,  which  is  a  source  of  economy 
and  convenience,  and  the  gas  cannot  es- 
cape. The  re-charging  requires  very 
little  trouble,  and  when  re-charged,  the 
lamp  will  burn  for  approximately  three 
evenings.  The  lamp  emits  no  odor,  re- 
quires no  chimneys  or  wicks,  and  gives 
an  illumination  that  has  yet  been  un- 
equalled. This  invention  is  the  product 
of  the  "Britelite"  Lamp  Company,  which 
has  its  main  office  at  45  Broadway,  New 
York  City. 


In  olden  days  in  New  England  it  was 
considered  almost  criminal  to  give  time 
or  thought  to  the  body  or  countenance. 
The  "ornament  of  a  meek  and  quiet 
spirit"  was  the  only  one  advertised  or 
recommended  in  New  England  at  that 
time,  and  was  doubtless  worn  by  many 
who  would  now  be  considered  very  un- 
tidy persons.  Of  late  a  different  saying 
has  gained  in  prominence,  and  the  idea 
that  "cleanliness  is  next  to  Godliness" 
is  growing  on  us,  and  inventive  genius, 
to  promote  cleanliness,  has  found  ex- 
pression in  Winsted  in  the  form  of  the 
Hollow-Toothed  Rubber  Brush,  an  all- 
flexible  brush,  having  a  surface  compos- 
ed of  hollow  projections  (suction  cups). 
The  basic  patent  for  this  form  of  brush 
v/as  granted  the  inventor,  John  G. 
Doughty,  March  8th,  1898.  Joseph  R. 
Sanford  became  interested  with  Mr. 
Doughty,  other  patents  were  granted  to 
Mr.  Sanford,  details  of  construction  were 
perfected,  and  the  first  goods  —  the 
Military  Horse  Brush  —  placed  on  the 
market  in  the  year  1900.  These  were 
warmly  received,  and  realizing  that  the 
patent    was    practically   applicable   to   an 


Photo  by  F.  H.  DeMars 
A  BUSINESS  SHCTION  IN  WEST  PART  OK  BOROUGH 
Showing  old  Second  Congregational  Church  in  center,  and  chapel  beyond— After  church  was  vacated 
Henry  Gay  to  preserve  property,  purchased  and  remodeled  buildings  for  business  purposes 


6l2 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


I'lu.  oby  K.  T.Sheldon 
THE  BEARDSLEY  HOUSE     WEST  PART  OF  BOROUGH 
One   of   the   best    known   hostelries    in   I,itchfield  County — Conducted  by  Charles  B.  Andrews — Five 
minutes   walk   from   Highland  Lake — The   traveler  finds  an  air  of  homelike  comfort  at  this  hotel 
with  its  handsome  office  and  spacious  varandas — Commercial   service  is  two   dollars  per  day,  with 
special  rates  for  a  week  or  more 


endless  variety  of  brushes  and  applian- 
ces, especially  for  bathing  and  massage, 
the  inventors  organized  a  joint  stock 
company  for  the  promotion  of  the  pat- 
ents and  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
the  goods. 

The  Flexible  Rubber  Goods  Company 
was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the 
State  of  Connecticut,  March,  1901.  Of- 
ficers of  the  company  are:  President, 
John  G.  Doughty;  secretary  and  treas- 
urer, Joseph  R.  Sanford;  directors, 
Henry  Gay,  John  G.  Doughty,  J.  R.  San- 
ford. 

Quite  a  full  line  of  all  flexible,  hollow- 
toothed  rubber  brushes,  mitts,  rollers. 
etc.,  is  manufactured,  and  the  company 
is  constantly  bringing  out  new  articles 
embodying  original  ideas  for  appliances 
to  meet  the  popular  demand  for  prac- 
tical aids  to  the  perfection  and  preserva- 
tion of  health  and  beauty. 
The  goods  have  already  gained  a  Na- 
tional reputation,  and  The  Flexible  Rub- 
ber Goods  Company  has  every  prospect 
of  being  an  important  factor  in  the 
manufacturing   life   of   Winsted. 

The  history  of  the  medical  profession 
is  replete  with  important  discoveries  in 
analysis,  compounding  and  surgery,  and 
the  world  is  each  year  receiving  the  ben- 


efit of  the  devotion  and  life  study  of  such 
public  benefactors. 

Over  fifteen  years  ago.  Dr.  George  W. 
Brown,  a  long-time  resident  of  Winsted, 
compounded  a  remedy  which  he  intro- 
duced among  his  patients  as  a  family 
medicine,  and  a  substantial  demand  was 
soon  crea'^ed. 

In  1902  it  was  decided  to  prepare  the 
remedy  in  large  quantities,  and  a  stock 
company  was  accordingly  organized  to 
handle  the  business  more  energetically. 
The  company  was  incorporated  under 
the  name  of  The  Brown's  Anodyne  Com- 
pany, with  the  following  officers:  Gilbert 
L.  Hart,  president;  Darwin  S.  Moore, 
secretary,  and  Charles  B.  Moore,  treas- 
urer and  manager.  The  formula  was 
then  purchased  of  Dr.  Brown,  and  under 
t"lie  present  management  the  business 
has  taken  rapid  strides  and  has  added 
another  article  to  Winsted's  varied  out- 
puts. 

In  1903  the  companj'  purchased  the 
formula  and  stock  of  Dr.  Bartlett's  Alka- 
line Poultice  Powder,  which  is  also  be- 
ing prepared  for  the  market. 

The  headquarters  of  The  Brown's  An- 
odyne Company  is  at  No.  g  Lake  street, 
near  Main  street,  in  the  west  part  of 
the  Borough. 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


613 


6i4 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


The  printer's  art  has  long  been  recog- 
nized as  an  essential  factor  to  industrial, 
commercial  and  educational  success. 

Among  Winsted's  industrial  achieve- 
ments is  the  Winsted  Printing  &  En- 
graving Company,  owned  and  conducted 
by  J.  R.  and  C.  Durand,  brothers,  who 
acquired  the  plant  September  24,  1901, 
and  from  a  modest  beginning  have  ex- 
perienced a  steady  increase  and  devel- 
opment, which  has  necessitated  adding 
much  new  machinery  and  the  remodeling 
of  the  establishment,  which  is  today  a 
well-equipped  job  and  book  printing  of- 
fice. 

The  plant  is  situated  in  the  center  of 
the  Borough,  occupying  the  large  and 
well-lighted  building,  Nos.  471,  473  and 
475  Main  street,  and  turns  out  much 
work  for  the  manufacturers  and  com- 
mercial institutions  of  Winsted  in  the 
line  of  catalogues,  booklets  and  labels 
of  all  descriptions.  They  also  furnish 
illustrating  plates  in  half-tones,  line  etch- 
ing, electrotypes,  plates,   etc. 

A  specialty  is  made  of  out  of  town 
business  through  mail  orders,  and  they 
ship  large  quantities  of  every  kind  of 
printing  to  all  parts  of  the  United 
States. 

Manufacturers  and  business  men  gen- 
erally would  no  doubt  profit  by  com- 
municating with  Durand  Brothers  for 
samples  and  prices  which  will  be 
promptly  and  willingly  submitted  by  the 
company. 

It  may  be  of  value  in  this  article  to 
note  some  of  the  commercial  interests 
of  Winsted  aside  from  the  examples 
which    have   been   cited   of   its   manufac- 


HIGHLAND  I.AKE  HOTKL 
The  one  hotel  situated  on  lake  shore— Broad  ver- 
andas—  Commanding   views  —  Shaded    grounds — 
Boating  facilities— Accomodates  forty   guests — A. 
M.;Graut,  winsted  offers  property  for  sale  or  rent 


turing  interests.  The  Local  Telephone 
Exchange,  established  in  1894,  does  as 
its  name  applies,  a  local  business  only, 
extending,  however,  to  Riverton,  Cole- 
brook,  Winchester  Center  and  Burrville. 
It  now  has  425  subscribers  at  rates  of 
$18  a  year  for  offices  and  $12  for  resi- 
dences. The  only  other  places  in  Con- 
necticut having  similar  systems  are  Shar- 
on and  Lakeville  in  one  system,  Wood- 
bury in  another,  and  New  Hartford,  Col- 
linsville.  Canton,  Unionville  and  Farm- 
ington,  having  a  central  station  in  Col- 
linsville. 

Besides  the  educational  advantages  of 
the  Gilbert  School,  there  is  in  Winsted 
a  commercial  institution  of  learning  of 
high  order. 

The  Winsted  Business  School  was  es- 
tablished in  1898  by  Mr.  H.  C.  Bentley, 
and  has  built  up  an  enviable  reputation  as 
a  business  training  school  for  young  men 
and  women.  On  February  ist,  1903,  it 
was  purchased  by  the  present  principal 
and  proprietor,  Mr.  H.  N.  Roberts,  who 
has  had  many  years'  experience  as  teach- 
er in,  and  manager  of  business  schools. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  school  to 
thoroughly  prepare  young  men  and 
women  to  fill,  in  the  most  satisfactory 
manner,  office  positions  in  the  business 
world.  Thorough  work  and  accuracy  is 
the  ambition  of  the  proprietor. 

Three  courses  of  study  are  offered, 
viz.:  Commercial  course,  stenographic 
course  and  commercial  -  stenographic 
course. 

The  school  is  finely  equipped  for  its 
work  and  has  all  up-to-date  office  ap- 
pliances, with  about  fifty  desks  in  its 
large  study  room,  an  illustration  of 
which  appears. 

The  center  of  business  activity  in  the 
east  part  of  the  Borough,  is  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Main  and  North  Main  streets,  com- 
monly known  as  "Nisbet's  Corner." 
The  roads  leading  into  the  Borough  from 
Torrington,  New  Hartford,  Barkham- 
sted,  Riverton,  Colebrook,  and  other 
towns  beyond,  all  center  here,  making  it 
one  of  the  busiest  of  localities.  The 
beautiful  east  village  park  with  its  new 
memorial  fountain  is  at  the  intersec- 
tion of  these  roads.  At  the  north  end  of 
the  park  stands  the  First  Congregational 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


615 


BUSINESS  SECTION  IN 
Commonly  known  as  Nisbet's  Corner — The  First 
and  Baird's  Pharmacy,  are  located  at  this  point 

church  and  the  Episcopal  church,  while 
at  the  south  end  is  situated  the  Gilbert 
School  and  Park  Hotel.  "Nisbet's  Cor- 
ners" takes  its  popular  name  from  the 
dry  goods  store  of  which  William  Nis- 
bet  has  been  owner  since  April,  1889. 
Before  purchasing  the  business  of  L.  R. 
Norton  &  Company,  his  predecessor  on 
the  corner,  Mr.  Nisbet  conducted  a 
iarge  and  successful  dry  goods  store  at 
Putnam,    Conn.,    selling    that    out    in    the 


Photo  by  F.  H.  DeMars 
EAST  PART  OF  BOROUGH 

National  Bank,  William  Nisbet's  Store,  Post  Office 

early  fall  of  1888.  The  constantly  in- 
creasing business  on  the  corner  has  de- 
manded more  room  almost  every  season, 
till  the  store  now  occupies  nearly  the 
whole  of  two  buildings,  the  one  on  the 
corner  and  the  next  adjoining,  making 
a  floor  space  of  some  10^000  feet.  Be- 
cause of  its  well-earned  popularity  and 
its  progressive  advertising  methods,  it 
is  probably  one  of  the  best  known  dry 
goods  houses  in  Northwestern  Connec- 
ticut. 


THE  PARK   HOTEL— EAST  PART  OF  BOROUGH  Photo  by  K.  T.  Sheldon 

A  homelike  family  and  commercial  hostelry  conducted  by  N.  H.  Whiting— The  spacious  corridors 
and  broad  verandas  impress  the  visitor— Commands  a  cheerful  outlook  on  the  broad  elm  shaded 
park  directly  opposite— Electric  cars  take  one  directly  to  Highland  Lake  from  hotel— The  service 
is  two  dollars  per  day,  with  special  rates  for  regular  guests 


6i6 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


617 


.■^^ii^ 


w 

t-*«* 

^^miA'[ 

— ^-  -.~- 

HIGHLAND   LAKE   AND   WAKEFIELD   BOULEVARD 
Looking  south  from  the  shore  front  on  Joseph  F.  Carey's  property 


There  has  never  been  a  "boom"  in 
Winsted.  The  place  has  been  noted  for 
its  quiet,  steady  and  healthy  growth. 
The  nearest  approach  to  a  sudden  in- 
crease of  land  value  has  been  caused  by 
the  popularity  of  the  shores  of  High- 
land Lake  as  sites  for  summer  cottages 
since  the  building  of  the  Wakefield 
Boulevard  around  it.  One  of  the  most 
fortunate  of  those  who  have  profited  by 
this  increase  of  values  is  Joseph  F. 
Carey.  With  his  brother,  who  has  since 
died,  Mr.  Carey  bought  some  twenty  or 
twenty-five  years  ago,  over  800  acres  of 
farm  land,  including  nearly  all  of  the 
shore  front  on  the  east  side  of  the  lake. 
The  greater  part  of  this  is  available  for 
cottage  sites,  and  has  been  surveyed  and 
staked  out  for  that  purpose.  Mr.  Carey 
sold  a  few  lots  some  years  ago,  but  has 
until  now  declined  to  part  with  much 
of  his  holdings  since  that  time.  In  the 
nearly  two  miles  of  shore  which  he 
owns,  there  is  a  great  variety  of  sites. 
Some  are  wooded,  some  clear.     Part  of 


them  terminate  at  the  lake  in  rocky 
bluffs,  while  others  slope  gently  to  the 
water's  edge.  The  boulevard  on  the 
east  side  of  the  lake  is  at  varying  dis- 
tances from  the  shore,  so  that  some  of 
the  lots  lie  between  the  road  and  the 
lake,  while  in  others  the  road  crosses  the 
lot.  There  has  been  little  speculation 
in  cottage  sites,  but  the  increasing  de- 
mand for  them  has  forced  prices  steadily 
upward.  Mr.  Carey's  lots  will  be  sold  at 
different  prices,  depending  on  their  sit- 
uation, but  it  is  the  last  large  tract  that 
can  be  opened  up  on  the  shores  of  High- 
land Lake.  The  great  diversity  of  these 
lots  will  permit  at  first  a  selection  suit- 
able to  the  taste  or  means  ot  almost  any 
purchaser.  Several  views  are  shown 
herewith  which  give  a  good  idea  of  the 
general  characteristics  of  the  land  own- 
ed by  Mr.  Carey,  and  of  the  cozy  nooks 
and  corners  for  pleasant  little  cottages, 
as  well  as  of  the  commanding  sites  suit- 
able for  more  pretentious  buildings. 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


619 


SWEEP  OF  SHORE   FRONT   ON   BURTON   E.    MOORE  S  PROPERTY 
The  site  commands  a  magnificent  view  of  Highland  Lake,  and  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  on  the  lake  shore 


There  are  some  other  tracts  of  simi- 
lar area  which  have  been  staked  off  and 
are  for  sale.  Among  these  is  one  on  the 
west  shore  owned  by  Burton  E.  Moore 
of  Winsted.  His  lots  are  very  prettily  sit- 
uated, as  to  healthful  surroundings,  view 
of  the  lake  and  encircling  hills,  and  are 
easy  of  access.  They  are  supplied  with 
good  clear  spring  water  (through  a  sys- 
tem of  well-laid  pipes  and  reservoir)  for 
all  modfirn  improvements  in  the  cot- 
tages. The  tract  of  land  includes  a 
beautiful  grove  of  hemlock  trees,  afford- 
ing shade,  but  not  obstructing  the  view. 


The  remainder  of  the  land  is  more  open, 
but  has  a  number  of  trees  for  shade. 
The  land  lies  in  such  a  position  that 
from  some  portions  of  it  both  ends  of 
the  lake  may  be  seen.  This  tract  was 
opened  up  last  year,  and  building  sites 
for  cottages  or  permanent  homes  have 
already  been  sold  from  it.  A  map  show- 
ing the  location  of  the  property  is  given 
on  the  opposite  page,  while  the  above 
cut  shows  a  portion  of  this  tract,  in- 
cluding the  hemlock  grove,  a  portion  of 
Wakefield  Boulevard  and  also  of  the 
lake. 


620 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


On  March  23,  1904,  the  Hurlbut  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Winsted  completed  its 
fiftieth  year.  The  institution  was  in- 
corporated March  23,  1854,  as  The  Hurl- 
but  Bank,  with  $130,000  capital  stock. 

On  July  12,  1865,  it  was  voted  to  adopt 
a  charter  under  the  National  Currency 
Act  and  become  a  member  of  the  Na- 
tional Banking  Association.  William  H. 
Phelps  was  elected  president  on  the  date 
of  incorporation,  March  23,  1854,  and  on 
June  1st  of  the  same  year,  George  Alvord 
was  elected  cashier,  holding  the  position 
until  May  14,  1857,  when  Rufus  E. 
Holmes  was  elected  to  the  office, 
which  Mr.  Holmes  relinquished  to  ac- 
cept a  similar  position  (cashier)  with 
the  Winsted  Bank  on  December  12,  1863. 

On  the  death  of  the  president,  William 
H.  Phelps,  August  26,  1864,  Mr.  Holmes 
again   became   associated  with   the   insti- 


tution, being  elected  to  the  presidency  to 
succeed  Mr.  Phelps  and  remaining  in 
that  capacity  until  1874,  when  upon  the 
creation  of  a  new  ofhce  of  vice-presi- 
dency, Mr.  Holmes  was  elected  to  fill 
that  position  and  William  L.  Gilbert  was 
chosen  president.  Mr.  Holmes  has  held 
the  vice-presidency  of  the  institution 
continuously  since. 

After  Mr.  Holmes  severed  his  con- 
nection with  the  bank  in  1863,  George 
W.  Phelps  was  elected  cashier  to  fill  the 
vacancy,  and  resigning  in  1865  was  suc- 
ceeded temporarily  by  Warren  Phelps, 
who  was  in  turn  succeeded  after  his  res- 
ignation, January  24,  1866,  by  Charles  B. 
Holmes,  who  was  then  teller  of  the  Cit- 
izens National  Bank  of  Indianapolis,  In- 
diana. Mr.  Holmes  remained  cashier 
until  1874,  when  Henry  Gay  was  elected 
cashier  and  Mr.   Holmes  made  assistant 


SUBSTANTIAL   HOME  OF  THE  HURLBUT  NATIONAL   BANK 
Erected  in  November,  1898,  on   Main  Street,  close  to  site  of  the  old   Higley  Tavern 


IVfNSrF.D^F/NAXCIAL   AND  INDUSTRIAL 


621 


HANDSOME  INTERIOR  OF  THE  HURLBUT   NATIONAL   BANK 


cashier.  On  the  death  of  William  L.  Gil- 
bert, June  29,  1890,  Henry  Gay  was  elec- 
ted president,  which  office  he  now  holds. 
and  Charles  B.  Holmes  was  made  cash- 
ier. Mr.  Holmes  dying  on  October  27. 
1900,  was  succeeded  on  November  2  of 
that  year  by  William  H.  Phelps,  grand- 
son of  the  founder  and  first  president  of 
the  bank,  and  he  still  holds  this  office. 

The  first  increase  of  the  capital  stock 
of  the  bank  was  made  June  3,  1857,  when 
the  amount  was  advanced  to  $200,000. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  a  still  further 
increase:  On  October  23,  1863,  the  bank 
officials  received  a  letter  from  Roland 
Mather,  treasurer  of  the  American  Asy- 
lum for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  of  Hartford, 
requesting  a  subscription  to  the  bank's 
stock  to  the  amount  of  $5,000,  and  a 
check  for  that  amount  was  enclosed. 
The  stock  of  the  former  increase  had  all 
been  taken  at  the  time,  but  under  an 
act  of  the  legislature  which  permitted 
charitable  institutions  to  subscribe  at 
par  for  the  capital  stock  of  any  bank 
chartered  by  the  State  of  Connecticut, 
the  capital  stock  was  accordingly  fur- 
ther increased  to  $205,000,  where  it 
stands  today. 

Sinceitsorganizationasanationalbank 
it  has  paid  back  to  its  shareholders  $827,- 
175,  or  more  than  four  times  the  amount 
of   its    capital    stock,    besides    accumulat- 


ing a  surplus  of  $102,500,  one-half  of  its 
capital  stock,  and  an  additional  undivid- 
ed profit  account  of  over  $36,000. 

The  present  board  of  directors  con- 
sists of  Caleb  J.  Camp  (one  of  the  orig- 
inal incorporators),  Chauncey  S.  Foster, 
Rufus  E.  Holmes,  W.  H.  Williams,  W. 
T.  Batcheller,  J.  G.  Woodruff,  and  Hen- 
ry  Gay. 


WILLIAM   H.    PHELPS 

Founder  of  The  Hurlbut  National   Bank. — Bom  Cole- 
brook,  Ct.,  April  5,  1818;  died  Winsted,  August  26, 1864 


622 


W/NSTED- FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


INTERIOR  OF  THE  FIRST   NATIONAL   BANK 
Situated  in  the  Winsted  Real  Estate  Company's  Block  in  the  East  part  of  the  Borough 


The  First  National  Bank  of  Winsted 
was  chartered  in  1879  with  $50,000  capi- 
tal, which  has  since  been  increased  to 
$100,000.  Heretofore  all  the  banks  with 
the  exception  of  the  Mechanics  Savings 
Bank,  had  been  situated  in  the  west  end 
of  the  town  and  owing  to  the  increasing 
manufacturing  interests  it  seemed  best 
that  deposit  and  discount  facilities  should 
be  offered  on  the  east  side. 

The  bank  began  its  operations  in  the 
office  of  the  Mechanics  Savings  Bank, 
over  Baird's  drug  store.  It  moved  to  its 
present  location  in  the  Winsted  Real 
Estate  Company's  block  in  January. 
1882. 

The  original  directors  were  Elias  E. 
Oilman,  David  Strong,  Charles  B.  Hal- 
lett,  Francis  Brown,  Lyman  R.  Norton, 
Franklin  Moore  and  George  S.  Burn- 
ham.  Messrs.  Strong,  Hallett,  Norton 
and  Burnham  are  still  members  of  the 
board. 

Elias  E.  Oilman  was  the  first  president 
and  he  was  succeeded  by  David  Strong 


in  September,  1883,  who  still  holds  that 
office.  Frank  D.  Hallett  was  the  first  ac- 
tive cashier,  having  served  continuously 
since  April,  1879.  Lorenzo  M.  Blake  is 
vice-president  and  Charles  P.  Hallett,  as- 
sistant cashier.  The  present  directors 
are  David  Strong,  Lyman  R.  Norton, 
Charles  B.  Hallett,  Oeorge  S.  Burnham, 
Harvey  L.  Roberts,  Lorenzo  M.  Blake, 
Luman  C.  Colt,  James  O.  Woodruff  and 
Frank  D.  Hallett. 

An  improved  burglar-proof  vault  was 
constructed  in  1902  and  a  safe  deposit 
department  installed.  This  feature  is  a 
great  public  convenience  and  is  far  su- 
perior to  the  old  tin  box  system. 

From  humble  beginnings  in  the  corner 
of  a  clothing  store  in  the  Camp  block, 
on  Main  street,  with  only  sufficient  space 
for  desk  room,  the  Winsted  Savings 
Bank  has  expanded  its  interests  until  to- 
day it  possesses  a  building  of  its  own, 
with  a  handsome  well-lighted  interior, 
that  is  the  result  of  43  years  of  conser- 
vative financial  judgment. 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


623 


At  the  May  session  of  the  General  As- 
sembly in  i860,  a  charter  was  granted  to 
The  Winsted  Savings  Bank  and  the  or- 
ganization was  perfected  in  July  of  the 
same  j'car,  with  Warren  Phelps,  presi- 
dent, and  Lyman  Baldwin,  treasurer. 
Resigning  the  presidency  of  the  institu- 
tion in  1862,  ]\Ir.  Phelps  was  succeeded 
by  Closes  Camp.  Mr.  Camp  declined  a 
re-election  in  1874,  and  Henry  Gay  was 
made  president,  which  office  he  resigned 
in  August  of  the  same  year,  when  John 
T.  Rockwell  succeeded  him,  holding  the 
office  until  1878. 

Upon  the  death  of  Treasurer  Baldwin 
in  1S74,  the  vacancy  was  filled  by  L.  M. 
Blake,  who  acted  as  treasurer  until  his 
resignation  in  September,  1875,  when  the 
present  treasurer,  George  S.  Rowe,  was 
elected. 

In  August,  1878,  John  Hinsdale  was 
made  president  and  served  in  that  capac- 
ity until  1899,  when  he  declined  a  re-elec- 
tion on  account  of  advancing  years  and 
was  succeeded  by  the  Hon.  Lorrin  A. 
Cooke.  Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Cooke  in 
August,  1902,  Arthur  L.  Clark  was  cho- 
sen president,  in  which  office  he  still  pre- 
sides. 

In  1868,  eight  years  after  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  bank,  the  growing  number  of 
depositors  and  the  accompanying  :in- 
crease    of    the    business    required    larger 


quarters,  and  tlie  building  of  the  Win- 
sted Bank  (an  institution  which  had  just 
retired  from  business)  was  purchased, 
and  has  since  been  the  home  of  the  Win- 
sted Savings   Bank. 

Situated  on  Main  street  in  the  west 
part  of  the  Borough,  adjacent  to  the  old 
Methodist  church,  the  building  has  re- 
cently undergone  extensive  alterations 
and  additions,  and  is  today  a  handsome 
and  well-equipped  banking  house,  afford- 
ing its  depositors  every  modern  conven- 
ience. The  work  on  the  interior  has  been 
in  progress  during  the  winter  months, 
and  includes  not  only  an  additional  build- 
ing in  the  rear,  but  a  complete  dismem- 
berment of  the  entire  old  interior,  and 
the  substitution  of  a  magnificent  bank 
screen  of  quartered  oak,  with  doors  and 
window  casings  to  match,  and  modern 
desks  throughout,  all  of  which  was  de- 
signed and  built  by  C.  H.  Dresser  &  Son 
of  Hartford.  A  spacious  modern  vault 
has  also  been  installed  by  the  Reming- 
ton &  Sherman  Company  of  New  York 
and  Philadelphia,  which  affords  an  in- 
vulnerable protection.  The  floor  is  of 
tile  of  a  handsome  design,  and  the  whole 
interior   is   noteworthily  tasty. 

The  bank  carries  on  its  books  the  ac- 
counts of  4,954  persons,  with  deposits 
aggregating  $1,800,480.06  and  a  surplus 
of  $91,000. 


RICHLY   FINISHED  INTERIOR   RECENTLY    COMPLETED  —  WINSTED   SAVINGS   BANK 


624 


WINSTED— FINANCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


INTERIOR  DARWIN  S.  MOORE  S  INSURANCE  AGENCY 
Established  by  Deacon  John  Hinsdale  in  1852— Is  the  oldest  insurance  agency  in  Winsted 


The  oldest  and  a  typical  branch  of  the 
insurance  business  in  Winsted,  is  the 
agency  of  Darwin  S.  Moore.  This  agen- 
cy was  established  in  1852  by  the  late 
Deacon  John  Hinsdale.  The  first  com- 
pany represented  by  him  was  the  Aetna 
Insurance  Company  of  Hartford,  and  the 
first  policy  written  was  for  Edward  P. 
Seymour,  of  Colebrook,  Conn.  Policy 
No.  2  was  written  for  J.  S.  &  J.  T.  Rock- 
well, as  a  joiner's  risk  on  the  present  so- 
called  Rockwell  Tannery,  situate  on 
Main  street  near  the  Second  Congrega- 
tional church.  This  policy  has  been  re- 
newed every  year  since  that  date  and  the 
company  has  never  been  called  upon  to 
pay  a  loss  under  this  policy.  Deacon 
Hinsdale  continued  the  agency  until 
1866  when  he  took  into  partnership  his 
son-in-law,  Robert  R.  Noble.  This  con- 
tinued until  January  1870,  when  the  firm 
name  changed  to  Noble  &  Beach.  This 
was  continued  for  about  two  years  when 
Mr.  Noble  sold  his  interest  to  Mr.  Beach, 
who  in  turn  sold  it  to  his  son-in-law, 
Charles  K.  Hunt,  and  the  firm  name  was 
Beach  &  Hunt.  After  the  death  of  Mr. 
Beach  in  1886,  Charles  K.  Hunt  contin- 
ued the  agency  until  April  ist,  1898.  Mr. 
Hunt  then  consolidated  his  business  with 
that  of  the  present  owner  of  the  insur- 
ance   agency,    Darwin    S.    Moore.      This 


partnership  only  lasted  until  October, 
1898,  when  Mr.  Moore  bought  Mr. 
Hunt's  interest  and  has  continued  the 
agency  since  that  time.  It  might  be  in- 
teresting to  note  that  this  agency  has 
represented  the  Aetna  of  Hartford  since 
1852,  and  has  written,  for  that  company 
alone,  10,326  policies.  The  Home  of  New 
York  has  been  with  the  agency  since 
1864;  the  Insurance  Company  of  North 
America  since  1866;  the  Continental  of 
New  York  since  1870;  the  Connecticut  of 
Hartford  since  1873;  the  Royal  of  Liver- 
pool since  i860,  and  the  German-Ameri- 
can of  New  York  since  1876. 

The  general  agency  of  the  Phoenix 
Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company  was  es- 
tablished with  this  agency  in  1857,  and 
the  general  agency  of  the  Travelers  In- 
surance Company  in  1858.  Both  com- 
panies have  continued  with  the  agency. 

This  agency  has  been  fortunate  in  its 
52  years  of  prosperity  in  having  good 
business  men  to  look  after  its  welfare. 
The  agency  has  grown  steadily  until  it 
has  become  one  of  the  largest  and  best 
known  agencies  in  the  State.  The  total 
assets  of  the  companies  represented  are 
$151,634,986.00,  and  the  combined  surplus 
is  $51,388,601.00.  These  companies  have 
all  been  tried  in  the  big  conflagrations 
of  the  United  States  and  are  well  known 
to  the  insuring  public. 


C.  L    ROCKWELL,  President 


C.  F.  ROCKWELL,  Sec.  and  Treas. 


THE  MILLER  BROS.' 
CUTLERY  COMPANY 


Manufacturers   of 


^ine  !Pocket  Cutleri/^  Snk 
Erasers   and  Oteei   SPons 


Factory, 

jMeriden, 

Con  oec  tic  Lit. 


New  York  Office, 

IVluttaal  Reserve 

Building, 

30Q  Broad-Mray. 


MILLER  BROS.'  STEEL  PENS 


J       ARE 


'AMERICAN  AND  BEST" 


Send  for  Samples,  they  are  yours  for  the  asking. 


The  Miller  Bros.'  Cutlery  Co., 

MERIDEN,  CONNECTICUT. 


"^r 


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QUILTED   nUSLIN 
MATTRESS  PADS 

Are  made  in  all  suitable  sizes  for  Beds  and 
Cribs.     They  are  a  Sanitary  necessity. 


QUILTED  CRIB 
SCREEN  PADDING 

1?^    Inches    Wide, 

is  the  most  useful  article  that  a  mother  can  buy  for 
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from  contact  with  metal  frame  of  bed. 

Ask  Dry  Goods  Dealer  and  send 
to  us  for  Sample. 

EXCELSIOR  QUILTING  CO., 

15  LAIQHT  STREET,  N.  Y.  CITY. 

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SECURITY  COMPANY  t^.ir.^ko'7^^Z 

Acts  as  Executor,  Administrator,  Guardian,  Conservator  and  Trustee,  and  Transacts  a 

General  Banking  Business 


Capital,  $200,000 


Surplus,  $100,000 


The  Officers  of  the  Company  will  be  pleased  to  consult  at  any  time  with  those  who 
contemplate  availing  themselves  of  the  services  of  a  Trust  Company 

Atwood  Collins,  President  Henry  E.  Taintor.  Vice-President 

Chas.   Edward  Prior,  Sec.  and  Treas.  Chas.  Edward  Prior,  Jr.,  Asst.  Treas. 


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Distinctiveness,  without  Extravagance, 
in  Women's  Costumes. 

This  month  of  March,  1904,  we  reach  the  fifty-second  anniversary  of  the 
foundation  of  this  business. 

Fifty-two  years  of  continuous  and  solicitous  watchfulness  of  women's 
fashions  in  general. 

Fifty-two  years  of  study  and  experience  in  the  whims  and  preferences  of 
Connecticut  women  in  particular. 

There  is  no  wonder  that  we  enjoy  the  confidence  and  the  patronage  of 
that  important  class  of  women-the  women  who  care  for  distinctiveness,  taste- 
fulness  and  "dressiness"  in  their  garments,  but  who  care 'also  for  the  cost 
of  things. 

A  visit  to  our  "  School  of  Style,"  now  in  the  fullest  Spring  bloom,  will 
show  how  we  have  succeeded  in  the  difficult  problem  of  combining  elegance 
with  economy. 


Established  March  1852. 


NEW  HAVEN.  CONN. 


THE  /ETNA  NATIONAL  BANK  OF  HARTFORD 


CAPITAL,  $525,000.00 


SURPLUS  AND  PROFITS,  $550,000.00 
DEPOSITS,  $3,000,000.00 


A.  Spencer,  Jr.,  Pres. 

DIRECTORS 
Morgan  O.  Bulkeley,  Appleton  R.  Hillyer, 
James  B.  Cone,  Morgan  B.  Brainard. 
Alfred  Spencer,  Jr  ,  A.  G.  Loomis,  W.  R 
G.  Corson. 


OFFICERS 
A.  R.  Hillyer,  Vice-Pres. 


W.  D.  Morgan,  Cashier 


Safe  Deposit  Boxes 

For  rent  from  $3  to  $20  per  year.  This  bank  offers  to  de- 
positors every  facility  which  their  balances,  business  and 
responsibility  warrant.  Special  accomodation  for  ladies 
and  new  money  paid  to  them. 


GONNEGTIGDT  TRUST  flHD  SAFE  DEPOSIT  G01ilIPfl|lV 

COR.  MAIN  AND  PEARL  STREETS.  HARTFORD 


Capital,  $300,000 


Surplus,  $300,000 


Banking  Business 

Conducts  general  banking  busi- 
ness. Accounts  opened  and  De- 
posits received  subject  to  check  at 
sight.    Accounts  solicited- 


Safe  Deposit  Vault 


The  most  Capacious  in  the  City 
1100     Safe     Boxes    for     Rent 

at  from  $10  to  |100  per  annum  ac- 
cording to  size.  


Trust  Department 

Is  authorized  by  its  charter  to  act 
as  Trustee  for  individuals  and  cor- 
porations. Executor  or  administra- 
tor of  Estates,  Guardian  of  -Minors, 
Etc. 


Mbigs  H.  Whaplkp,  President 

John  P.  Wheeler,  Treasurer 


Henry  S.  Robinson,  Secretary 

IIosMKR  P.  Redfiki.d,  A ss't  Treasurer 


Please  Mention  the  Connecticut  Magazine  when  patronizing  our  Advertisers. 


Foa^ovE^i 5  Yearb 

A  VALUABLE  HOUSEHOLD  REMEDY. 

Internal  or  External  Use. 


Dr.  BROWN'S 
ANODYNE 


SAMPLE  BOTTLE  FREE 


id' 

•AMILY 
MIDICINE  :| 

I     A  SPtioy  CURE 

f  .Urn  CfciMl,  Cmup.  C»«    „ 
C-  «mp«, «.'«'«  .      ^    g„„^  .5 


INTERNALLY 

Brown's  Anodyne  is  an  invaluable  remedy  for 

COUGHS,  COLDS, 

CHILLS,  CRAMPS, 

SORE  THROAT,       TOOTH  ACHE, 
DIARRHCEA,  DYSENTERY. 


BY    FlXJBBIWCi    TAT-EXjL 

INTO  THE  EFFECTED  PARTS 

BROWN'S  ANODYNE 

lb  A  PROMPT  AND  EFFECTIVE  REMEDY  FOR 

SPRAINS,  RHEUMATISM, 
BRUISES,  NEURALGIA, 

BURNS,  FROST  BITES, 

SCALDS,  CHILBLAINS. 


IN  FACT  IT  IS 


THE  BEST   FAMILY  MEDICINE 

Proved  by  many  testimonials  from  our  own  Townspeople. 


pre:pared  only  by 
THE    BROWN'S  ANODYNE    COMPANY,    INC. 


Please  Mention  the  Connbcticdt  Magazine  when  patronizing  our  Advertisers. 


Qnlvafitty  ef  Connaetfcut  Library 


GOOD  PRINTING 

OUR  SPECIALTY 


«  «  « 


THE  NEW  HAVEN  PRINTING  COMPAN 
OUR  MOTTO:  66-71  ORANGE  STREET, 

Delivered  When  Promised.  NEW  HAVEN,  CONN 


SPENSER 

Oct.  U  J903  AUTOMAT] 

SEWING  MACHINE 
$10 

To  introduce  we  shall  eell  our  new  SPENSER  Auct- 
matic  Hand  Sewing  Machine  at  $10. 


A  LETTER 

My  friend  Mrs.  C.  has  recently  ordered  one  of  yoi.r 
new  machines  which  she  is  delighted  with.  ^  ,,,.-0.1,  f  ^ 
purchase  one  and  enclose  check  for  $10. 


I  wish  to 


The  above  is  one  of  many  similar  letters  we  have 
recently  received, 
It  is  not  necessary  for  you  to  wait  to  see  your  friend's  SPENSER  machine.  Ordei 
now  and  if  t  is  not  satisfactory  on  two  Weeks'  trial  return  it  to  us  a  our  expense  and  we 
wHl  refund  price  paid.  The  SPENSER  is  adapted  for  the  household  sewing  ^nd  weighs 
hilt  four  Dounds  We  should  be  pleased  to  send  you  circulars  and  full  detailed  information 
of  our'ne^'SPENSsS  Send  fo?  free  booklet  of\he  SPENSER^  An  orders  and  corres- 
pondence should  be  addressed  to  our  main  store.  213  Tremont  St.,  Boston,  iiass. 

SPENSER  SEWING  MACHINE  CO. 


213  Tremont  Street, 

BOSTON,  MASS. 


32  West  J  4th  Street, 

NEW  YORK  CITY. 


Please  Mention  the  Connecticut  Magazine  when  patronizing  our  Advertisers. 


University  of 
Connecticut 

Libraries