History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

The Naugatuck enjoys the reputation of being one of the best-nnmaged roads in the country. It has neither floating nor bomled debt, pays all bills monthly, and its stock is in demand as a sound, dividind-paviiiL' investment. BRIDGEPOKT. 99 The piTsciit iitfirers ;irc: E. F. Bishii]i, President; Hoiiiee Xielidls. Treasurer; James Putter, ('hid' ( 'lerli ; (Jeiirge W. Beaeli, 8uperiiiteiiileiit ; !?aiuu(l "Wilindt, Auditor. Tlie direetors are W. D. Bisliop, P. Tomliuson, E. F. Bisliop, Bridijeport ; J. (!. Wet- m<ire, AVinsted ; A. L. Dennis. Newark, X. .T.; II. Broiison, J. B.Robertson, New ilaven; P. iL Bas- sett, Derliy ; F. J. Kinjfsliurv, Waterhury. The Nauj;atuek now leases and operates the New Haven and Derby road, paying the latter twenty per cent, of the gross earnings of both corporations, the contract to be readjusted every five years. Its length, from Wiiisted to its junetion with the consolidated road, near the Housatonie Piver, is ."ilil miles. Its capital st<jek is S2,000,UO(I,— held by 4:',2 jiersons, re- siding in every quarter of the world except Soutli America, — and its total debt does not exceed $30,0(10, while its earnings from all .sources iu the year 1879 were S.".1(;..')<I4.14. This road has 10 stations. 2o4 eni- jiloyei -. I I loeomotives, and )illl cars, and transported in the alioNc year i(i],4(!'.) passengers and 100,84.") tons of freiglit. The railroad commissioners of the State, in their last annual report, say of it, — "Steel rails have taken the place of the original iron the wdiole length of the road, and the track is kept in good surface and alignment. The passengei'- ears have, during the past year, been eiiuip])ed with the Miller platform and the Wcstinghouse automatic brake. The usual dividend of ten per cent, has been paid to the .stockholders." The decade between 1850 and 1860 was one of great Ijrosperity for Bridgeport, and during this period it first began to assume the appearance of a city. In 1S53 the Bridgeport Water Company was formed, and in 18")4 and 1855 water-mains were laid through the lirincijial streets by Nathaniel Greene and his asso- ciates. The Bridgeport tras-Light Ct)mpany was chartered in 1849, and commenced busine.ss iu De- cember, 1S51. In June, 18.50, the Bridgeport Librarv was incorporated. Aliout the same time the Farmers' (now the First National), the Bridgeport City, and the Pequonnock Banks were chartered, several churches were dedii-ated, and two new bridges opened between the city i)ro]ier and East Bridgeport. The newlv- conipletni railroads brought much business to the place, and nuiny new residents were attracted hither. Manufacturing, except f<ir hojue consumption, was yet in its infancy, but tin; old-established houses ol Lyon & Calhoun, afterwards Lacey, Jlecker & ('o., manufacturers of saddlery and harness, and of Tom- linson, Wood & Co., now liincks & .lohnson, earriagr- builders, gave enrj)loyment to niany workmen and turne<l out an excellent cdass of work for exjiort. East Bridgcjiort now began to attract attention as an excellent site for building and for nnuiufaetori<'s. The following paragraphs relating to its rapid growth are slightly abridged from the "Autobiography" nt' Hon. P. T. Barnum : " In 1.S51 I purcliased from Mr. William II. N..lile the undivided hall' of his late father's homestead, consisting of fifty acres of land lying on the east side of the river, opposite the city of Bridgeport. We in- tended this as the nucleus of a new city, which we concluded could soon be bnill up, in consequeuee of many natural advantages tlial it possesses. Before giving publieity to our |ilans, however, we purehaseil one Ininilred and sevenly-fonr acres contiguous to tluit which we already owiieil, and laid out the entire property in regular .streets and lined them with trees, reserving a beautiful grove of six or eight aeies, which We inclosed and converted into a public park. We then i-oniiiH'iieed selling alternate lot.s at the same price which the land cost us by the acre. ( )ur sales were always nunle on the condition that a suitable dwelling-house, store, or nninufactory should be erected upon the land within one year from the date of ]iurchase; that every building should be jdaeed at a certain distance from the street in a style of archi- tecture approveil by us; that the grounds should be inclosed with acceptable fences and kept clean ami lu'at; with other eomlitions which would render the locality a desirable one for respectable residents. A new foot-bri<lge was built, connecting this place with the city of Bridgep(jrt, and a public toll-bri<lge which belonged to us was thrown open to the public free. Wv also put uji a fine covered drawbridge, between the two bridges already existing, at a cost of sixteen thousand dollars, w Inch we also made free to the pub- lic for several years. We built and leased to a Union ('omiiany of young coach-makers a large and elegant coaili-manufactory. which was the beginning of the extensive mami factories sub>ei|ueutly built in East Bridgeport." The sagaiious pi'licy of Messrs. Barnuui and Noble laid the foumhition of the pro.sjierity of East Bridge- jiort, but it was not until the Wheeler <*v: Wilson Manu- facturing Company removed here that its remarkable gr(JWth really commenced. Since that tinu- many other large manufaetorio Inive Ijeen located here, — notably the Howe Sewiug-Machine ('onqiany, in lSti3 ; the Union Metallic Cartridge Company, in 1805; the Frary Cutlery Company, Messrs. Glover, Sanford & Sons; the Bridgeport Bra.ss Company; the Farist Steel Company ; the .Monumental Bronze Com- pany ; .1. \. ll<juse; and not a few smaller concerns. ,V11 these lia\e in a greater or less degree contributed to the jirosperity of the place. The same is true of such csialilishiuents upon the wi-st side of the river as the Eaton Cole i*!: Bnrnham Comjiany, the Furniturc-.Manufacturing ( 'onipany, the Burlock Manufacturing ('ompany. Thompson, J,angdoii .V' <'o,. the S]iring Perch ('ompany, liincks i*y: .lohnson, the Pead Carpet ('ompany, the P. Tom- liuson S|iring Company, Ivi's, lilakcslec i'^ Co., the I'acirtc Iron-Works, the .lohn .'^. Way Company, Bridgeiiort Patent-Leathei- ('ompany, Warner Broth- ers, Bridgeport Malleable Iron l.'onii)any, Hotchkiss 100 HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT. Sons, Parrott Varnish Company, Bridgeport Spring Company, J. B. Secor, Smith & Egge Company, Wheel and Wood-Bending Company, White JIanufacturing Company, Bridgeport Organ Company, Lee Arms Company, Kray & Pigg, Ameriean Belt, Tin, and Tube Company, Ornamental Wood Company, Bridge- port Coach-Lace Company, Bridgeport Ehistic Web Comi)any, Belknap Manufacturing Company, W. F. Swords, Bridgeport Paper-Box Company, Bridgeport Silver Company, H. T>. Gates & Company, .Etna Spring and Axle Company, the Pequonnock Paper Company, J. S. Follansbee, Giles and Clancey, Coul- ter & McKenzie, and a multitude of others. It is much to be regretted tliat the limits of the present sketch do not admit of an extended account of each one of them. Tlie Wheeler & Wilson Com- pany, however, has been so long and so intimately connected with Bridgeport, and has given employ- ment to so large a number of the population, that no history of the city, even though a brief one, can be written without containing some account of it. This company removed to Bridge])ort in IS.'ie, but, in order to gain a clear idea of its history, it is neces- sary to go back to 1849, the year when Allen B. Wil- son first invented his sewing-machine. Nathaniel Wheeler, who was born in Watertown, Conn., in 1820, was then carrying on the manufacture of light metallic goods in his native place. Happening to be in New York upon busitiess, he went to see the new sewing- machine, which was tlien on exhibition in a room in the old ^Sun building, and was attracting considerable attention. Mr. Wheeler quickly recognized the merits of the invention, and at once entered into a contract to build five hundred of the machines at his factory in Watertown, Mr. Wilson agreeing to remove to that place and superintend their manutjicture. Further imjjrovements having been made in the machine, an a])plication for a patent was filed, and the document was is.sucd Aug. 12, 1851. Messrs. Wheeler and Wilson now entered into copartnership with Alanson Warren and George P. Woodruff, of Watertown, under the firni-nanie of Wheeler, Wilson & Co., anil began the manufacture of machines under tlie patent. Several hundred had been sold, and Mr. Wheeler had succeeded in introducing them into the extensive shirt-factories at Troy, N. Y., and New Haven, Conn., and had established depots for their sale in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, when, for the better prosecution of the business, the firm was dissolved, and the Wheeler & Wilson Manufac- turing Company was organized in October, 1853, with n capital of one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, one hundred thousand of this sum representing the patent-right, and the remainder standing for tools, nnichinery, and working capital already emi)loyed in the business. The first president of the company was Alanson Warren, and the first secretary and treasurer George 1*. Woodruff, while among the original incorporators and stockholders was George Mallory, then of Water- town, but for many years past a resident of this city. Jlr. Wheeler was elected ])resident of the company July 18, isr>ry. In the spring of 185(i, the business having greatly increased, it was decided to remove to East Bridge- port, where the works of the Jerome Clock Company had been i)urchased. Since that time its history has been identified with that of Bridgeport. The original dock-factory has been greatly enlarged and new buildings erected, so that the establishment is at present one of the most extensive and complete in the country. At the present time the principal buildings consist of the main factory, for metal-working, a.ssembling, testing, etc., occupying one complete square, 368 by 307 feet, under one roof; a wood-working factory, covering a second scjuare, 520 by 219 feet; a foun- dry and needle-factory upon a third, 368 by 232 feet ; the works altogether covering over seven acres of ground.