Norwalk After Two Hundred & Fifty Years

Hanlon Bros., 3-5 Wall street, N. Established in 1880 by John J. and W. P. Hanlon. Manufacturers of Hanlon's Baking Powder and Shirt Waist Starch. Em- ployees, 6. Annual output, $60,000. Norwalk Hygeia Ice Mfg. & Refrigerating Co., 138 Water street, S. N. Established in 1902 by Dufenbach & Johnson. Manufacturers of Ice. An important branch of the business is Cold Storage. Area of build- ing, 96x45. Capacity, 17 tons in 24 hours. Employees, 9. Colonial Mfg. Co., 3 Wall street, N. Established in 1892 by H. E. Dann. Succeeded by present corporation in 1901. Capital, $60,000. H. E. Dann, president; W. A. Curtis, treasurer ; F. E. Wilcox, secretary ; F. S. Ambler, vice president and manager. Manufacturers of all kinds of horse remedies. G. N. McKibbin Mfg. Co., 52 Water street, S. N. Incorporated March, 1901. Manufacturers of a general line of machinery. G. N. McKibbin, president ; W. R. Thompson, secretary and treasurer. Employees, 7. John G. Pugsley, manufacturer of the Universal and Excelsior Ankle Supporters and Straight Walking Soles. Established by Pugsley & Smith in 1886. Suc- ceeded in 1888 by Pugsley & Golden. Succeeded by Pugsley & Smith in 1889. Mr. Pugsley has carried on the business since 1890. Capacity, 100 pairs daily. Em- ployees, 6. Edwin L. Monroe, 19 Mechanic street, N. Estab- lished in 1897. Manufacturer of all kinds of Baskets. The Norwalk Extract Co., 1-5 Wall street, N. Es- 373 tablished in 1889 by F. S. Ambler & Co. Manufactur- ers of Flavoring Extracts and Grocer and Druggist Supplies. Employees, 5. E. H. Hotchkiss Co., 6-8 Hoyt street, N. Incor- porated in 1893. E. H. Hotchkiss, president; W. A. Curtis, secretary and treasurer. Manufacturers of Automatic Paper Fastening Machines and Automatic Tackers. The company does an extensive exporting business, sending goods to almost every country on the globe. The paper fastening machine is the only auto- matic machine of the kind in the market. Employees, 30. Curtis & Comstock, 32 Knight street, N. Estab- lished Jan. 1. 1900, by Seymour Curtis and Willard S. Comstock. Manufacturers of Overalls and Mechanics' Clothing. Employees, 25. Pierson Mfg. Co., corner of Wall and High streets, N. Established May, 1901. Manufacturers of Overalls and Mechanics' Clothing. Employees, 20. Jerome Paper Co., Water street, N. New York offices, 570 Seventh avenue. Established in 1890. Man- ufacturers of all kinds of Roll and Bunch Toilet Papers. Employees, 20. The Norwalk Poultry Yards, located on Water street, N. Established in December, 1900, by F. E. Vail and George A. Comstock. The yards have an area of five acres with 450 feet of buildings. The firm raises exhibition poultry, broilers and eggs for marketing. HATTING. Hat Forming Co., Railroad avenue, S. N. Incor- porated in 1874. Original capital stock, $10,000; in- creased to $35,000. Officers: Alden Solmans, presi- dent; W. H. Benedict, treasurer; S. C. Palmer, secre- tary. Directors: W. H. Benedict, James H. Knapp, Edwin Adams, Alden Solmans, S. C. Palmer. The company manufactures hat bodies and is one of South Norwalk's most important industries, giving employ- ment to a large number of men during the busy season. The leading and most flourishing concern engaged in the production of hats, and which has been for many years past, is the Crofut & Knapp Company, with an enormous factory of all the modern improvements and appliances of every kind located on the corner of Day and Tolles street. This firm is a corporation organ- ized under the laws of the state of Connecticut, and has as its officers James H. Knapp, president ; Philip 374 N. Knapp, vice president ; and William W. Lester, sec- retary and treasurer. The superintendent of this vast concern is John J. Cavanaugh. All of these gentlemen are extensive stockholders in the company. Besides having this factory, the company has a suite of offices at No. 840 Broadway, and the sales from this office and the office located at No. 44 Bedford street, Boston, Mass., are enormous. The capital stock of the corpor- ation is $100,000, divided into 1,000 shares of $100.00 each, of which the sum of $25,000 is paid in capital in cash. The factory was organized as a copartnership about the year i860, with its building located on the corner of North Main and Union streets. The partners were A. J. Crofut and James H. Knapp. Business was carried on in this establishment until the year 1893, when it was decided to increase the manufacturing business. For that reason another tract of land was bought and a large factory was erected on the corner of Day and Tolles streets, and the firm continued to do business in both places, until they decided to form a joint stock corporation, and forthwith were organized under the laws of Connecticut, with a capital stock of $100,000. and a paid up capital of $25,000 cash money. The stock was divided into 1,000 shares of $100 each and was readily taken up. The new corporation began to boom things, and in a year and a half it was found that the two factories could not accommodate the necessary ap- pliances for the carrying on of the rapidly increasing business. A meeting was called and it was decided to procure more property adjoining the Day and Tolles streets property, which was accordingly done, and a building of the most improved and spacious kind was erected, into which the firm moved in 1896, and where it is at present 'installed and engaged in the manufac- ture of the finest and most extensive grade of hats that is manufactured in the New England States to-day. The annual output of the factory is upward of 20,000 dozens of hats, and three-quarters of this production is of the fine grade. The credit of the large increase is due entirely to the present officers, who have held the same office for some time, and whose energy and ap- plication of modern business methods have made the company what it is to-day. They are engaged in the making of every kind and form of hat, and also make a specialty of the coach and police hat of fine grade. They have supplied for a long time the New York police 375 force, the police of Boston, Lynn, and other large cities with helmets, and have received the highest of satisfac- tion, and are spoken of by many as being a fine type of workmanship. When the firm first started business there were just fifty men employed, and that number has gradually in- creased, until to-day the firm employs anywhere from 350 to 400 men. Hatting in South Nor walk was brought to birth, a person might say, by the C. & K. Co., and was fostered as a child by them, until to-day it stands as one of the best and most improved hat manu- factories of the western part of Connecticut. The Volk Hat Company, corner of Raymond and Day streets, S. N., is a representative concern whose goods are widely known throughout the country. The business was established in 1875 by Francis A. Volk and Joseph A. Volk under the firm name of Francis A. Yolk & Bro. In 1880, owing to the death of Francis A. Volk, the firm was reorganized, Joseph A. Volk as- sociating himself with Henry I. Smith and Christian Swartz, the firm being known as the Volk Flat Com- pany. The company was incorporated at this time, having as officers Christian Swartz. president ; Joseph A. Volk, secretary and treasurer and general manager ; Henry I. Smith, superintendent. The present officers are as follows: Christian Swartz. president; Joseph A. Volk, secretary and treasurer; James Ft. Flynn, super- intendent. The excellent quality of hats manufactured has given the firm a very high reputation with the trade, owing largely to Mr. Volk's close attention to the business. Otto Barthol, manufacturer of Hats in the rough. Established Nov. 5, 1880, under the firm name of Hub- bell & Barthol. Partnership dissolved Nov. 5, 1890, the business being continued by Mr. Barthol until May, 1901, at which time the corporation Otto Barthol Co. was organized with a capital of $50,000. Otto Barthol. president ; William Moran, vice president ; Edward W. Beard, treasurer. The corporation's factory is one of the most complete in the country. It has a daily capac- ity of 100 dozens. Employees. 80. Universal Hat Company, corner of Clay street and Railroad avenue, S. N. Established originally in T875 by WTilliam A. Brown. Succeeded in 1888 by Univer- sal Flat Co. Manufacturers of stiff and soft hats. Em- ployees, 6. Weekly output, 24 dozen. Norwalk Hat Company, 50 Water street, S. N. 376 Originally established in 1887 as the South Norwalk Hat Co. Succeeded by the Norwalk Hat Co. in 1898. The members of the company are John J. Murphv Mid E. H. Bush. They manufacture a fine grade of Stiff Hats, giving employment to 25 hands. William B. Hubbell, 22 Woodward avenue, S. N. Established November, 1891. Manufacturer of hats in the rough. Mr. Hubbell's factory is finely equipped and the 50 men employed receive liberal wages. The daily output is 75 dozen hats. Hoyt, Wolthausen & Co., Day street, S. N. Es- tablished in 1895 by H. W. Hoyt and F. Wolthausen. Partnership dissolved May 1, 1902. Wolthausen Hat Co. formed. Incorporated May 1, 1902. Capital stock, $25,000. L. R. Bouton, president ; F. Wolthausen, secretary and treasurer. Manufacturers of hats in Ihe rough. Employees, 75. Capacity, 100 dozen daily. Espenscheid Hat Co. Incorporated April 3, 1902, by Charles C. Settle and Edwin C. Godfrey. Manu- facturers of Trimmed Hats, soft, stiff and flexible. Charles C. Settle, president ; Edwin C. Godfrey, secre- tary and treasurer. Capacity, 40 dozen daily. Em- ployees, 40. A. A. Hodshon & Co., 53 Railroad Place, S. N. Established June 1, 1898, by A. A. Hodshon, Frederick Pitzer and Frederick Barthol. Manufacturers of hats in the rough only. Daily output, 24 dozen. Emplovecs, 18.