Putnam Ct. Mill Crawl 4/24/14

My destination spot on Thursday was Putnam, Ct. I was surprised to find what felt much more like a mid-size town than Stafford Springs (which seemed very small). However, Putnam lists a population of only 9.5k, while Stafford Springs was 12k.

Putnam describes itself as a New England Mill town, incorporating at the height of the Industrial Revolution in 1855. The Quinebaug River was the supplier of the water source, and Mill buildings in the downtown area are on both sides of this river.

The Quinebaug-Shetucket Heritage Corridor produced a lovely trail heritage page:

River Mills Heritage Trail

Now how could I not visit? I had been looking at this site for years and finally made the trip. I was a bit disappointed however when I did visit. The library knew nothing about the  trail map, the site listed for the Quinebaug-Shetucket Heritage Corridor Office (in a mill) didn't exist anymore, they moved to Danielson Ct., and the little park that was created was run down and the pictures on the kiosk there looked like this:

Looks like a Lewis Hines photo- wonder if it is? More research to do.

So the pictures were faded, the town has seen better days, and I couldn't find the brochure I came to collect. But the hx'ical info still was legible and the Mill markers were there for me to follow, so I went on my little scavenger hunt.

I went in search of the Powhattan Mill first, which is now the Belding building.  The door was unlocked, there were several businesses listed, but I knew right away that this was outdated. The business I was looking for was gone, I imagine many others were too. The hall was dark and dusty and felt like it was an old man with sagging bones and skin. HOWEVER, they did have this little diorama-like display that is the stuff I groove on:

Somewhere in the small print I espied the name Corticelli and had an aha! moment.

 I could just imagine the woman in the picture above toiling her live away standing in front of the silk looms. Probably several members of her family did, including her children. The interconnectedness of this whole era and area is amazing to me. We proudly promote and also put on our historical sites the Corticelli name and its history to the production of silk in Florence, MA. The fact that there was a corporate marriage between these 2 places around 1925 was a cool little factoid to discover. Then more on the Belding name led me to this link, literally (because the Belding birthplace was Ashfield, MA) and figuratively:
The Belding Mill history

The once huge mill complex that dominated the downtown area, is now much reduced (there were a few awful floods in the mid 20th century that did some damage + not sure what was before, only seeing what is now), but it and its associated mill housing are extant, and extant always excites me!

Behind Belding, have no idea what these steel structures are.

More mystery out-buildings behind the Mill

There was no way I was making it any closer for my beloved window shots!

These last two are remains of an outbuilding on the 2nd Mill housing street, Powhatan.

The Mill housing was exactly as one would expect. These two small streets (Mohegan runs right alongside the Mill and Powhatan is the next street) were all double entry wood frame worker dwellings that were built in 1872.

This was the only blighted house site I saw (across the street from the other industrial ruins).

Even ugly is pretty sometimes.

I tried to make my way around this trail without the map and in the blustery cold. I took in a fraction of what is marked and here (yes you are right, it means a return trip!). Here's what I captured:

Can you believe it? An operating button mill. And with some very suspicious owners, let me tell you. See the visitors parking on the left. Well what the hell do you think I am? So I park and take my lovely shots of hx'ic marker + bldg. Out runs these 2 guys wanting to know what I was doing. Duh! So I ask some questions about their hx'ic bldg. They are clueless about history, except their own, which they braggingly state "we've been making buttons since 1928." Okay, so be proud, but that aint that old, at least not to me. And here is some of their history of button-making: 

1939 - Introduced Phenol formaldehyde molded button products. 1941 - Buttons molded from Urea made their initial appearance in the Emsig stable of innovations. 1942 - Buttons made from Fire retardant, color fast, Melamine resins were introduced. Sounds yummy for the river, right? I know, I know- my passion doesn't quite make me green.

This enigma house sits right at the end of the intesection of Kennedy Rd. + Providence St., which means it is inbetween all these old mills. Yet it looks more like a farmhouse than a mill owner mansion (yes there is one on the trail, but I didn't get to it this visit). 

The next 3 are across the river shots and I ran out of time (and had no brochure to follow to identify) to hunt around. Next time I am going to Danielson, where the producers of the brochure are now housed- wherever the heck that is, and getting my literature!

Random Mill housing shows the varied construction around the town.

Every town should have ducks- be they literal or figural.

 AND Finally, there was this little exciting news flash:

I think it kind of amusing that the BANDIT had a SILK stocking down over his nose, giving the blds. history. Wonder if it was a Belding or a Hemingway or Corticelli silk made stocking?

Big time- FBI joined the case. Could not find any other mention on the 'net about resolution in the case. Yet another mystery!

They don't look too happy now do they? I do like the company newspaper though. Someone was witty enough to combine the owner names and add the spool. Cute, cute.

Eastern Connecticut Mill Jaunt 4/24/14 (pt.1 Stafford Springs, Ct.)

So there I was, knowing little of Ct.'s Mill history. Knowing only what I'd learned a zillion years ago, that there once used to be a great indigeonous population which is why there are still many Native American names on streets and well, even the states name. The state is similar to MA in many ways, excepting its overall conservative nature. Puritans and Anglican Protestants made up it's early European settlement, with Irish, French Canadian, Eastern Europeans (Polish, German) and Italians coming later to help in the Industrial growth that brought advanced machinery and mass production of goods.

Of course the abundance of water ways led to the development of many small, medium, and even large places of Mill production. With the birth of the patent system, Ct. at that time (1790-1930) had more patents issued per capita than any other state.  Then of course there were the railroads, which came around 1840. Looking for those two things: water and railroad tracks leads me on many journeys. Then of course I am always on the hunt for Mill Street or River Street. Didn't find a Mill St. this sojourn, but did find River St.

Much of this Eastern traverse along Route 190 was rural and I was surprised at the number of farms I saw. I could envision early colonial life. What I have a hard time doing is going even further back, that is until I saw waterways. For some reason I so love the little rivers, brooks, and streams of our Eastern states. Even the lakes thrill me. But the sound of the rushing water and the concept of harnessing its power to produce goods just thrills me.

Although remembering Mark Twain's "A Ct. Yankee in King Arthur's Court," and having grown up with the vision of what that "Yankee" was: shrewd, hard-working,  with mechanical ingenuity, and proudly independent, I really enjoy trying to envision the advent, then lure of the Indutrial call that pulled many a Yankee off the farm and into these little pockets of riverside industry.

Textiles had its day! Of course there were other goods produced, but mostly I saw woolen and cotton (yup cotton, and before emancipation too, can you imagine that? And the North didn't participate in the slave economy of the South, right?).

Stafford Springs, Ct. was larger than I thought in both population (12k), and land (3rd largest area in the state).  The main thoroughfare is as one would imagine for a small mill town though: a section or merchant block, railroads running adjacent to water, mills on the next outer ring, mill housing right by, mill owner's houses further up on hillsides, and mill ponds and water falls. Quaint and just what I love!

The left bank includes the 135 yr. old Grace Episcopal Church + Hx'ical Society next door. Behind church are homes on Highland Ave. Right bank below is the RR and merchant blocks on Main St.

The Hx'ical Society, of course, wasn't open :( I rarely hit it right to get inside these places.

Down the hill from Highland Terrace is the RR and Merchant shops of Main St.

My favorite re-do was this cute Cafe where I got a coffee on this blustery Spring vaca day.

Across Main St. in a vacant lot they created an outdoor art space!

I thought, although an eyesore to some, the remnants of the cleaved bldg. tells a story. Just look at all that is going on on the side of this building.

Further down river is the center of town

The old train depot is now the police station and across the street is the Stafford Springs Congregational Church (gathered in 1850)

Silent No More! Now housing a Yoga Studio, Dance Studio, Naturawl- a healthy something-or-other, AND a Thrift Shop + Book Attic- I could have stayed all day!!!

From the Hartford Courant:

Loyal To His Boss Until The End And Beyond

By LINDSAY FORTADO; Courant Staff Writer, August 11, 2003

All that's left to remind the world of the once-thriving B.P. Cooley Co. is a silent mill next to the railroad tracks and one last employee. Frank Paris, a short, muscular man with tanned skin, hears only the clump of his work boots inside the mill as he walks across the aging hardwood floors, preparing the last of the bales of wool and the machinery for sale. Until owner William Craig Leuthner died of cancer in mid-2002, the company processed wool shoddy -- scraps of fabric, yarn and raw wool torn into fibers by machines and resold in bales.

Didn't mean to selfie it, but found this picture and the one below on the walls of this lovely mill that sits almost mid-downtown on the Middle River. 

Heading up to Furnace Rd. to the remains of the day, as the picture and link below sort of tells the story of the death of another mill :(

 Warren Corp. Shutting Down

Silence mostly up this part of town, excepting the lovely sound of the falling water. Notice also in the next two pictures how they are different. Two mile falls created in close proximity to each other. The nature of the land is so fascinating to me.

Then there was all the gorgeous (to me) extant mill housing:

Company town, company stores, company housing. Work, work, work that was the American way back then. Now we are lucky to even have a part time job, and most of the mills are gone. Geez, that pendulum sure does swing!

I liked how many of the mill houses in this town had dormer windows.

But not all! Look at the difference between the top and then the bottom. The housing in these old mill towns were as stratified as the employees were. Location and construction told a great deal about the people living inside (and sadly in most cases of these old mill houses still do).

 Then of course there is the Supervisor's, Foreman, and Owner residences, most of which are elevated in some way. This first picture tells of the history (or when industry began to leave, head south to be closer to the raw product, get cheaper wages, etc.) as some of these grand places just begin to crumble and fade

These pictures above and below are located close to Furnace St.

Who I wonder lived at this home on top of Highland Terrace?

Just look at all that detail work on this home! But what is that chair in the front yard? A curio?

A potty chair!?! In the front yard? I almost used it, wanted to steal it, but did neither- just photographed it. Mystery remains.

And finally were some other mysteries, requims to the past, and assorted spottings. I really enjoyed this place (NO I did not go anywhere near the motorway, in fact I pretended it didn't even exist, even though it was the only thing I knew about this place before I visited).

A piece of the Grace EpiscopalChuch. Simple elegance.

The non-existant spring! Here is a blurb on the Hx of SS from connecticutthistory.org: 

Located in Tolland County on the Massachusetts border, Stafford is, in terms of land area, the state’s third largest town. Early on, Iron bogs and mineral springs drew indigenous peoples and settlers to the area. Incorporated in 1719, Stafford became a resort town as growing numbers of people, including President John Adams, sought out the waters’ curative powers. In the late 1800s, as the springs’ popularity declined, textile mills, a button factory, and other enterprises formed Stafford’s industrial hub. Today, with its lakes, streams, farmlands, and Shenipsit State Forest, Stafford retains its rural character. 

The last pictures are the remains of the day. Goodbye Warren Mill, may good karma come your way and a reincarnation/rebirth happen soon. 

 Op Ed from Courant