The Fulling Mill Brook
By Sandra Clark

At right, the interior of an early fulling mill.

While the Naugatuck Valley offered little to early settlers who tried farming, its beautiful hills did provide the water power of its streams. The abundant timber, too, met the needs of individuals who knew how to construct water wheels and how to operate mills to sustain life- the grist mill for food, the fulling mill for clothing and the saw mill for shelter.

Harnessing the water through the construction of small dams was not difficult. Homemade water wheels were easy to construct, and a small shop built over the wheel required only a little capital. In Naugatuck, Hop Brook, Long Meadow Brook, Cotton Hollow Brook along with Beacon Brook and Ten Mile Brook of Prospect were the sources of power. Industrial first began to flourish on these waterways.

In 1707, the proprietors of Waterbury sequestered property to Samuel Hickox, Jr., to build the first mill using the water power generated by Fulling Mill Brook then known as Daniel Romers Brook. Hickox was granted use of the stream as long as he maintained a fulling mill. This was a process in which naturally grown wool was milled or shrunk by a process of steaming and drying. When the loom began to operate, the stream became known as Fulling Mill Brook. The brook flows from its main source in Prospect down what is now Prospect Street (Route 68) into the Naugatuck River.

In 1730, Samuel Hickox’s son, Ebenezer, operated a grist mill which was needed to grind grain and corn into flour. The two mills shared the same water power. Records show that each of the mills used the power for two days a week and that only one major building existed for both mills. The mills and the house built over it changed hands several times and remained a grist mill until 1810 when it was sold to Ebenezer Scott. In 1842, the mill was purchased by Lampson Isbell and Clark Warner who manufactured wool carding machinery and castings.

Between the years 1751 and 1805, early records show that a saw mill was operating on the lower end of Fulling Mill Brook. The water supply ran along the hillside from a point where the south branch of the stream (also known as Cold Spring) joins the main brook.

In 1801, a group of men including Samuel Gilley, Jr., and Amasa Goodyear bought a part of the property, located to the east of the grist mill and owned by Hickox. Here a new factory was constructed under the name of New Haven and Baltimore Co. A dam was built and the ditch that brought water to the water wheel ran parallel to Prospect Street, then crossed Prospect Street and Golden Hill Street. The factory opened in 1808 for the manufacture of polished metal buttons. It closed in 1851.

Jared Byington and his sons, James and Isaac, took over the factory and made hammered nails. On the first trip hammer in that section of Connecticut and the patented all cut water lever were manufactured here. The nail cutter was used for drawing and cutting the iron for the manufacture of nails. A foundry was built across the road where a half dozen men were employed to make the nails.

By 1842, the factory had changed hands and Clark Warner installed their wool carding machinery and casting business. This operation lasted about 10 years until Isbell and Warner formed the Naugatuck Machine Co. Various machinery was made here as well as pocket knives.

In 1843, the partners of Baird and Lewis bought the buildings including the foundry. They continued the manufacture of iron goods until 1880, when James Paul took over the works with the water wheel now producing a maximum of 45 horse power.

In 1883, the main building was destroyed by fire but was rebuilt. The Shepard Manufacturing Co. occupied it in 1886 to make pump engines and other machinery. The enterprise lasted about a year.

The place was idle for several years. In 1890, Charles Parks used the main factory for carpentry and milling purposes. In 1909, it was remodeled and used as a tenement.

Source
Naugatuck Historical Society Newsletter
Volume 13, Issue 4
July–August 2008

Industrial growth continues along Fulling Mill Brook, Part 2
By Sandra Clark, Town Historian

America’s Industrial Revolution had a deep impact on Fulling Mill Brook. By 1825, there were nine factories on the brook, and they engaged in button making and in marketing other novelties.

With the failure of his button shop, Amasa Goodyear moved to the village center of Union City. Here he opened a hardware store which was also unsuccessful. In 1832, Robert Isbell and Letsome Terrell used the store to make tin buttons. Later, George and Eldridge Smith made buttons there. Amasa Goodyear continued to make round-tined forks, cast buttons, molasses gates and other articles in a small shop on the village center.

Just prior to the Civil War, Letsome Terrell’s son, Monroe, moved his father’s buttons out of the village to the north bank of the Fulling Mill Brook. During the Civil War the metal button business boomed as the army ordered metal buttons for the Union uniforms. The need diminished when the War ended, and in 1872 Homer Twitchell bought the property. The Homer Twitchell and Son partnership was born.

Twitchell had obtained the rights to the Lindsey safety pin patent, and for a long time his factory was the only safety pin manufacturing company in the United States. Twitchell also had rights to the use of automatic machinery. The factory operated with a 15 horsepower water motor and employed more than 25 full time workers who made umbrella fittings along with safety pins, and other novelties.

By 1894, the plant had changed hands. W.T. Rodenbach, C.S. Pinney and E.W. Whitlock formed the Naugatuck Manufacturing Co. and manufactured selected plumbing and steam fitting supplies.

The south branch of the brook, known as Cold Spring, also had its share of shops. Metal buttons were manufactured in a small building near the stream on Locust Street. Joel Webster and Emmett Saunders operated a knife shop about a quarter mile from the button shop.

Near Donavan Road, Silas Grilley made small articles, including wooden buttons. A saw mill and cider mill operated for a number of years near Pond Hill Road.

The Union Knife Company was built in 1851. The dam and factory were located at Sheffield Lane. Pocket knives were made here as well as pliers and pruning shears. In 1874 a steam engine was introduced in this factory and was used for power, replacing water power. About 25 men were employed in the factory during the most prosperous year. In February 1885, fire destroyed the building which was never rebuilt.

From 1865 to 1885, Union City was one of the most important industry centers in the United States. One of the most important factories located along Fulling Mill Brook was the “Shear Shop.” The factory was built on the north side of Prospect Street, a short distance from Lines Hill Street.

Around 1822, Anson Smith and his son, Harvey, moved their factory here to manufacture buttons and fine bone back combs. Pieces of bone too small to make combs were “teamed” from the stream bank. The combs were boiled and pared off to 10 years. Around 1840, the shop burned and was never rebuilt.

Eben Tuttle bought the stream lot in 1846 and he installed a water wheel that developed 45 horsepower. The business prospered due to the fine grade of its agricultural implements and a ready market in which to sell them.

When a co-partnership was formed among E.L. Hinman, Enos Hopkins, Eben C. Tuttle and his son, Bronson, the new company was called E.C. Tuttle & Co. The firm then moved into a plant formerly owned by the Union City Wheel Company and the American Malleable Iron Co. The E. C. Tuttle Company moved to a new location, and the old factory was used by the Connecticut Cutlery Company from 1867 to 1880.

From 1892 to 1896, David Pratt used the old “Shear Shop” to make thimbles and writing pens. The shop was unused until 1902 when E.F. Smith and Sons lost their factory to fire and moved into the former “Shear Shop.” In 1912, the shop was destroyed by fire.

Source
Naugatuck Historical Society Newsletter
Volume 13, Issue 5
September - October 2008