USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 56
USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 56
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
in the lower part of the town. Thereafter the power was probably de- voted to lesser use, Doctor Beardsley being of the opinion that many years later James Humphreys had a hat shop at that place, which he removed to Humphreysville.
In 1682 an allotment of land at Plum Meadows was made to Sam- uel Griffin, the first blacksmith in the settlement, and it is probable that he had his shop at the mill. It appears that he was also a farmer, and in 1685 entered his ear-mark for cattle and swine-" a hapeny cut out of the under side of the offer eare, or right earc." John Griffin probably settled here in the year last named, and was a farmer. David Wooster, John and Joseph Hull, Jr., also lived in this locality, which became known as the " North End," on account of its being the north part of the original Derby village settlement, and after the removal of the mills this was almost wholly a farming community.
Along the Naugatuck, north of the meadows, the land was of the nature of a sandy plain, and not adapted for the uses of agriculture. But the hills, though high and not free from rocks, were to some ex- tent utilized for farming purposes. On the west side were the Samuel Durand and the Bassett farms, each having a generous acreage. They have long since been devoted to suburban uses, Ansonia having be- come distinctively a manufacturing town, which was called into exist- ence less than half a century ago. Its most interesting history conse- quently is confined to the present population, accounts of which are given in the following pages.
On the 30th of November, 1888, 1,100 inhabitants of the upper part of Derby petitioned the general assembly, asking that they might become a separate town corporation. After a full consideration of the matter by that body, in which the lower part of Derby pre- sented counter petitions, the prayer was granted April 17th, 1889, and the town of Ansonia was, by legislative enactment, at that time cre- ated. The old Derby Neck and Town roads and Clark avenue were made the lines of division between the two towns. The bridge across the Naugatuck was held to belong to the towns in common, and the almshouse and poor farm of Derby, falling within the limits of Anso- nia, were assumed by this town, at a valuation of $5,907. The debts of the old town were divided on a basis of the list of 1888, and by these arrangements Ansonia began its civil existence with an indebtedness of $51,347.49.
Under this act the first town meeting was warned by Egbert Bart- lett, to be held at Ansonia Hall, April 29th, 1889, when the following officers were elected: Selectmen, Erwin W. Webster, Eli H. Wakelee, Samuel Scott; town clerk and registrar, Reuben H. Tucker; assessors, William B. Bristol, George E. Lindley, Egbert Bartlett; treasurer, Hobart Sperry; board of relief, Benjamin Nichols, Jacob A. Fiske, Henry C. Spencer; auditors, Joseph G. Redshaw, Lockwood Hotchkiss; grand jurors, William H. Barnes, Jeremiah Flahaven, Nicholas F. Mc-
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
Laughlin, John W. Schumacker, Peter Larkin, Samuel B. Bronson; school visitors, Albert S. Terry, Morgan J. Flaherty, Frederick W. Holden, Edward L. Smith, Herbert A. Willard, Thomas J. Kelley, M. Gaylord Bullock, Albert Phelps, J. Mead Whittacoe.
At the town meeting in 1889 the selectmen reported that the high- ways of the town were in bad condition and in need of repairs; and with the streets in the borough of Ansonia their improvement would cause a great burden. Of the bridges across the Naugatuck, some were pronounced unsafe and all needed attention. In 1889-90 the town expended, on account of the bridges, $5,552.24; and for highways, $7,504.93. Not only were the highway bridges put in good order, but a new foot-bridge across the Naugatuck was built, at an outlay of more than $1,000. This proved a great convenience for the work- men in the upper factories of Ansonia living in West Ansonia. The expenditures of the town that year for all purposes were $62,851.37.
The principal town officers elected for 1890 were the following: Selectmen, Jonah C. Platt, Samuel Scott, Erwin W. Webster: clerk and registrar, Reuben H. Tucker; treasurer, Frederick M. Drew; auditors, Joseph G. Redshaw, Morgan J. Flaherty; school visitors, Herbert A. Willard, Charles H. Vandercoock, Thomas J. Kelley.
As nearly all the interests of the town are centered in the borough of Ansonia and West Ansonia, a movement has been set on foot to simplify the forms of government and make them more effective and advantageous by having the entire town incorporated as a city. This will probably be accomplished in the near future.
The borough of Ansonia contains by far the greater part of the population of the town. It is, next to Waterbury, the most important place in the Naugatuck valley, as well as one of the most prosperous in the state. Here is the terminus of a branch of the Housatonic rail- road, 11 miles from New Haven. It is also an important station on the Naugatuck Valley Division of the Consolidated system, 16 miles from Bridgeport. For the accommodation of these roads a fine station, with modern conveniences, has lately been built. Along the railroad and the river are grouped many manufacturing establishments, whose magnitude gives evidence of the importance of this place as an indus- trial center, while on every hand may be seen the signs of wealth and prosperity. On the hills, overlooking the works, are many attractive and costly residences, and hundreds of plainer but neat homes, whose appearance indicates the industry and frugality of their owners. The business houses are large and well stocked with goods, and the public buildings are commodious and inviting. There are a large opera house, Catholic, Episcopal, Congregational, Methodist and Baptist churches, a Young Men's Christian Association, daily and weekly newspapers, banks, a good system of drainage and public water works, gas and electric lighting, an electric street railway, a fine fire depart-
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
ment, splendid schools, lodges and social privileges, and other acces- sories of a live, progressive town having a population of 10,342.
Ansonia was founded by Anson G. Phelps for a manufacturing village, and derived its title from his given name-Anson, with the letters ia added to make it more euphonious. Anson Green Phelps was born at Simsbury, Conn., in March, 1781. His father died when he was an infant and his mother when he was but 11 years of age. After spending seven years in learning the saddlers' trade, he engaged in merchandising, having a store in South Carolina. In 1815 he located in New York, where he became a large and successful importer of copper, tin, brass, iron and other goods, amassing a large fortune. He now turned his attention to manufacturing, and in 1836 Sheldon Smith succeeded in enlisting him in his Birmingham enterprises. Of these he not long after became the principal owner, and by his skill- ful management greatly promoted the early prosperity of that place. While thus engaged he conceived the idea of extending the village of Birmingham north several miles, making another improvement of the power of the Naugatuck, by a system of reservoir and raceway on the west side, the land being admirably adapted for that purpose. With this view he purchased large tracts of land on the west side, but failed in securing the old Bassett farm, at that time owned by Squire Booth. The latter set such a high value upon it that the persuasions of Mr. Phelps and of prominent citizens of Birmingham who were interested in the welfare of the village, failed to induce him to sell unless he could get six-fold the value of the farm. Booth felt sure that Phelps must own his farm in order to carry out his plans, and when, finally, $15,000 was offered him, declined to sell, and the result was the abandonnent of the scheme to extend Birmingham northward, on the west side of the Naugatuck, and the founding of a new village on the east side of that stream. The greed and obstinacy of Booth not only prevented Birmingham from becoming one of the largest manufacturing villages of the state, but it was also the primary cause which brought into ex- istence its wide-awake competitor, Ansonia.
" The first survey of the grounds now teeming with the busy life of Ansonia was made by John Clouse, Anson G. Phelps, Almon Far- rel and other gentlemen. After nearly a day's tramp around the lots Clouse planted himself upon a high rock, near where the Congrega- tional church now stands, and casting his eyes around, said: 'Mr. Phelps, this is one of the finest places for a village in this Western world. I would be content here to live and die, and be buried near this very spot, with no other monument to my name than this rock and the memory of those who may come after me.'" *
Acting on this opinion of the old surveyor, Phelps secured large tracts of lands on the east side of the river. In December, 1844, he also purchased the improvements and privileges of Raymond French,
* Orcutt and Beardsley's "History of Derby," p. 416.
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
who had that year built a dam at " Kinneytown," on the west side of the river, a mile above Ansonia, so as to make possible the construc- tion of a grand system of water power along the base of the hills on the east side. In the spring of 1845 a large force of men was put to work upon the embankment of the reservoir, which was built a mile and a half long. It was completed the following year under the direc- tion of Almon Farrel and Abraham Hubbell, two of Ansonia's pio- neers. At the same time the building of the village was begun, and the growth of the place and the development of the manufacturing in- terests have been intimately connected ever since. The vigorous spirit exhibited in making the first improvements soon attracted many energetic citizens. A number engaged in manufacturing and others entered upon general business. In the line of the latter was erected. in 1846, the Ansonia Hotel, by Lindley & Johnson, and was one of the first buildings in the place. It is, in an enlarged condition, still continued as a public house, and while under the management of A. H. Dayton became widely known, and retains his name. In recent years several modern hotels have been erected, there being half a dozen hostelries in 1890.
Eleazer Peck built the first store in Ansonia, and was in the dry goods trade until 1870, when he was succeeded by Robert Peck. The former died in 1878, aged 70 years. John Lindley, who came to An- sonia in 1845 as a carpenter and builder, putting up some of the first factories, etc., established a furniture and carpet trade in 1858, which is still continued by members of his family.
Egbert Bartlett here became a hardware mercant in 1852, and in 1867 retired from a business since carried on by Lockwood Hotchkiss. H. C. Spencer opened a store in the same line of trade, about six years later, which in 1861 passed to T. P. Terry, one of the veteran mer- chants of the place. In 1882 his son, Frank T., was associated with him, and the firm continues on a large scale as T. P. Terry & Son. The hardware business of W. B. Blackman and Charles M. Platt was established in 1879. Nathan Johnson was in trade before the war, at the stand of Hobart Sperry, who is also one of the oldest merchants in the place. H. C. Miles has for many years been a contemporary. Merritt Clark engaged in the coal trade in 1861, which interest is still carried on by his sons. Willis and Lewis Hotchkiss were extensive pioneer builders, and in 1883 W. R. Mott and C. Y. Woodruff suc- ceeded to the building business of F. A. Lines & Co. In all there are more than a hundred business firms.
Ansonia was incorporated as a borough by an act of the May, 1864, general assembly, but its original charter was much amended in 1871 and subsequently. The limits were restricted to the village proper, north of Beaver brook and east of the Naugatuck river. The first election of borough officers was held August 1st, 1864, the meeting be- ing called by J. H. Bartholomew. The following were then chosen as
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
the first board of officers: Warden, D. W. Plumb; burgesses, William B. Bristol, J. H. Bartholomew, Robert Hoadley, William Wallace, John Lindley, M. P. Wilson; treasurer, William B. Bristol; clerk, A. J. Hine; bailiff, D. F. Hoadley.
The successive wardens have been the following: 1866-9, William B. Bristol; 1870-1, Egbert Bartlett; 1872, Robert Peck: 1873, Charles F. Williams; 1874, M. J. Walsh; 1875, Henry B. Whiting; 1876-7, D. F. Hoadley; 1878, J. B. Quillinan; 1879-80, Henry A. Shipman; 1881- 2, John B. Quillinan; 1883-4, John B. Gardner: 1885-7, Reuben H. Tucker; 1888-9, John M. Wheeler. In the latter year the burgesses were: Morris Drew, A. B. Clemens, Thomas A. Nelson, A. S. Terry, J. G. Redshaw, John E. Lowden and William Lapthorn; B. A. Bradley was the clerk: Fred. M. Drew, the treasurer; John E. Lewis, the audi- tor, and Thomas S. Ellis, the bailiff.
From the records the following interesting facts pertaining to the borough have been gleaned:
In 1874 a map of the streets was made by George O. Schneller.
October 24th, 1879, extensive by-laws upon all matters of borough rule were passed and adopted for the government of Ansonia.
August 25th, 1884, J. Herbert Shedd, of Providence, R. I., reported his survey for a sewerage system, and soon after the work of laying street sewers was begun by Contractor M. S. Austin.
In 1885 the grade lines of many streets were definitely fixed. In the fall of 1887 many yards of street sewers were laid, the cost aggre- gating more than $16,000. During the year more than $23,000 was expended for that purpose. In 1888-90 about $30,000 more was ex- pended to still further extend the system.
On the 22d of February, 1888, it was ordered that Main street from State street to Bridge street should be paved with Belgian blocks, and appropriations to that end were made. Main street north has been paved with these blocks, as well as the principal cross streets from Main to the river, on the west. On the 1st of October, 1890, about 4,300 feet of streets had been thus paved, and the outlay for that pur- pose had been about $35,000. In consequence of these liberal expen- ditures and an annual outlay of about $4,000 upon the highways of the borough, the healthfulness and appearance of Ansonia were supe- rior to most places of like nature and size.
The streets of Ansonia are lighted by gas and electricity furnished by the Derby Gas Company, the expense for this purpose being about $2,000 per year.
Water for use in case of fires, etc., is supplied by the Ansonia Water Company, there being about 60 public hydrants, and the cost of maintaining them is about $1,700 per year.
In connection with this system of water works is the Ansonia Fire Department, whose marshals in 1890 were Joseph F. Gilpin and Will- iam O. Wallace. The only fire company in the department in the
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
borough is the Eagle Hose and Hook and Ladder Company, No. 6, which was organized August 21st, 1871, with 29 charter members. In 1890 the number belonging was 75. The company is well supplied with effective apparatus, and its quarters are centrally located on Main street, near the Farrel foundries. They were opened for the use of company in 1879. Outside the limits of the borough, but within easy distance for active cooperation, is Fountain Hose Company, of West Ansonia, and the two companies working harmoniously together, have succeeded in reducing the losses to very small amounts. Both fire districts are equipped with a fire alarm telegraph, which system was introduced in the early part of 1889. From six hundred to a thousand dollars are expended annually in the maintenance of the department.
Aside from special disbursements in the way of these progressive betterments the corporation expenses are about $15,000 per year, but the results of this outlay are plainly apparent in the orderly, well-kept and substantial appearance of the borough.
West Ansonia has a beautiful location on the hills west of the Naugatuck river, which separates it from the borough of Ansonia. A number of bridges span the stream, affording easy communication be- tween the two places. For many years the village sustained a suburb- an relation to the borough, being almost wholly given over to residence purposes. In more recent years a number of mercantile businesses have been established, and the lower part of the village begins to as- sume the appearance of a trading point. There are more than a dozen stores and shops, several public and private halls, good school houses, a church, public water works, a hose company, and the principal streets are lighted by electricity.
The village contains many handsome residences on spacious and well kept grounds. There are also hundreds of less costly but neat and attractive homes, owned by the industrial classes of the town. The in- habitants number several thousand. The streets are in good condi- tion and are being constantly improved, giving the place a prosperous appearance.
In the western part of the village, at the base of the higher hills, are the Roman Catholic and Evergreen cemeteries. Both are neatly kept and contain handsome memorials to the dead. In the latter is also Ansonia's Soldiers' Monument, a chaste token of the esteem to the memory of those who lost their lives in defense of the Union.
Ansonia became distinctly a manufacturing town with the building of Phelps' reservoir. But the capacity of the water power has long since been outgrown, and steam is extensively used as a principal or supplemental motor; still its water remains an important factor in the affairs of the town. Upon the death of Anson G. Phelps, in New York in 1853, his interests were placed in charge of representatives, who have still further developed and extended them. In 1869 the power and real estate at this place passed under the management of the An-
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
sonia Land and Water Power Company, of which D. Willis James and George P. and A. A. Cowles, of New York, have been principal officers a number of years. The real estate of the company, which was com- pletely worthless in 1845, has become very valuable.
Almon Farrel, a native of Waterbury, where he learned the trade of a millwright of his father, and who subsequently became one of the leading machinists and contractor of factory buildings in the Nauga- tuck valley, was one of the principal spirits in the pioneer industrial history of Ansonia. Many of the first improvements were made under his direction. He was the father of Franklin Farrel, now one of the oldest and most successful manufacturers of the town. His death oc- curred in May, 1857, but the works of his handicraft still remain. Edwin Ells, who died in 1881, built the first wheel that was put in motion in Ansonia. The Colburn brothers, Sylvester and Sullivan M., who have also passed away, were among the first who here ventured to establish new industries; and David W. Plumb was one of the most active manufacturers and business men, from 1848 until 1868, when he removed to Shelton to help develop that village. The Wallaces, Farrels and Durands remain, and are pillars of strength in the indus- trial life of Ansonia.
The Ansonia Brass & Copper Company, popularly called the "A., B. & C. Co.," is the successor to the oldest manufacturing business in the town. The copper mills of Ansonia were the first industrial works. Their foundation was laid in the fall of 1844 by Almon Farrel, upon which Harvey Johnson erected a superstructure the following year. This was occupied by the Ansonia Manufacturing Company, incorpo- rated May 12th, 1845, with a capital of $50,000. Donald Judson was the president, and Sheldon Bassett the secretary and treasurer of the company. In 1854 the Birmingham Copper mills were removed to Ansonia, and the two concerns, in both of which Anson G. Phelps had been interested, were consolidated. The business was now success- fully conducted by the Phelps management, and in 1869 the formation of the present corporation followed. Its capital stock has been in- creased with the expansion of business, being now $1,500,000. The old buildings have also been displaced by more substantial, commodi- ous structures. At Ansonia three vast plants are occupied, which are known as the brass and copper mills, the wire mills and the factories on Main street. In the latter large quantities of brass and copper goods in a great variety of manufacture are produced, giving employ- ment to mnuch skilled labor. The annual output aggregates several millions of dollars, and the company here has in its service hundreds of men, this being one of the most extensive industries in the place. The principal stockholders and officers reside in New York. The of- ficers were, in 1890; W. E. Dodge, president, and A. A. Cowles, secre- tary and treasurer.
The Farrel Foundry and Machine Company also ranks as a leading
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
industrial institution, which was founded in the pioneer period of Ansonia. It was started by the Colburn brothers-Sylvester, Sullivan and Josiah M .- and Almon Farrel. The capital and the business were at first small, but increased from the time of commencing operations in 1848. Two years later the business was changed to an incorporated company, called the Farrel Foundry. Almon Farrel was the presi- dent, continuing until his death, in 1857. In September of that year the former corporation gave place to the present one. Of this com- pany Franklin Farrel has since been the president and the leading spirit, increasing the value of the nominal capital of $100,000 until its market value is half a million dollars. In 1890 his associate officers were: F. E. Hoadley, secretary; E. C. Lewis, treasurer, and C. F. Bliss, agent.
From its humble beginning at Ansonia the plant has been ex- tended until it covers between four and five acres, upon which are capacious buildings, equipped with improved machinery for expedi- tiously carrying on the work of the corporation. An additional plant is also maintained at Waterbury, and more than half a thousand men are employed. The products consist of a great variety of heavy man- ufactures, a specialty being made of chilled rolls for every kind of mills; much of the products being exported to foreign countries. It is said that this establishment has manufactured some of the heaviest sugar mill machinery in the world. Several years ago these works shipped to Cuba the machinery for a couple of sugar mills, each weighing 320 tons. The chilled rolls were 44 inches in diameter and 7 feet long on the face. The company also manufactures on an ex- tensive scale rolls for flouring mills, which have no superior in this country; and their patent ore crushers are reputed among the best machinery of that kind made. The excellence of their many other products has made the name of the corporation and of Ansonia widely known.
Contemporary with the foregoing enterprises was the establish- ment, in 1848, of a woolen mill by David W. Plumb. He had engaged in the same line of manufacturing at Birmingham in 1836, and came from that place in the year named. A large factory was built in the upper part of Ansonia, in which he successfully manufactured woolens, having an especially profitable business during the war. In 1865 he sold out to William R. Slade, who organized the Slade Woolen Com- pany the same year. This corporation operated with a capital of $100,000, and had an annual output of half a million dollars worth of cassimers, beavers, doeskins and other woolen goods. It occupied a four-story building 50 by 160 feet, and used water and steam as motors. In 1883 a part of the building was occupied by the Hill Knitting Com- pany, incorporated that year with a capital of $25,000, for the mann- facture of knit underwear. Charles L. Hill was the president of the company, and about 50 operatives were employed. Since 1887 this in-
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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
dustry has been known as the Ansonia Knitting Mills, and has been carried on under the proprietorship of R. W. Lewis & Son (E. H. Lewis), in the manufacture of all kinds of woolen knit goods. They run three sets of cards, 1,100 spindles, 10 knitting machines, and em- ploy about 80 hands.
Another industry established at Ansonia in that period is the brass and copper manufacturing business of Wallace & Sons, who have, since 1853, been a corporate body with that name. This has also been developed from a meager beginning to an establishment of collossal proportions. The buildings are among the largest and best equipped in the town, the entire plant covering about five acres. An especial feature for some years has been a chimney 200 feet high, containing at the height of 80 feet above the ground a fine Seth Thomas town clock. A new office, erected in 1889, is in size, beauty of architecture and elegance of appointment surpassed by few others in the county. The interests of Wallace & Sons are among the foremost in the place. They produce not only the raw brass and copper in varied forms, but re-manufacture an astonishing variety of goods of the metals named, and employ a force of men which approximates 1,000 in number. Their goods also have a fine reputation at home and abroad, and al- though the output exceeds several millions of dollars worth per year, it is being steadily increased by the enlargement of the plant and the perfection of the machinery used.
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