Scovill Brass Works, 59 Mill Street, Waterbury, New Haven County, CT

Significance: The Scovill Brass Works was established in Waterbury as Abel Porter & Company in 1802. Early in its 175 year history it produced buttons, coins, whale oil lamps, carriage trim, and daguerreotype plates. Later, the company produced a diverse mixture of mill products, consumer items and components for original equipment manufacturers. Scovill was a major supplier of brass cartridge munitions casings. After World War II, with 12,000 employees, the company manufactured a quarter of a million individual and distinct products. Scovill was a resourceful business firm. It was an early user of time study methods to improve efficiency. Its engineers developed ingenious manufacturing methods and mass produced quality parts to exacting tolerances at low prices. The Waterbury plant was a completely integrated facility and was capable of performing all necessary manufacturing operations. The buildings at the Scovill site in Waterbury constituted an interesting cross-section of types of industrial architecture that were popular between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. One building, destined for preservation, is a rare example of a Rundbogenstil facade. It was erected just prior to 1876. The Scovill plant evolved to accommodate increased market demands, changing technologies, and the encroachment of urbanization. Scovill's presence in the community was a catalyst in shaping Waterbury as it exists today. The interactions between Scovill and the local labor force shaped Waterbury's history. The company played a consequential part in local, state and national history throughout most of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Survey number: HAER CT-153