Historic Mills of Connecticut

Companies Associated w/Complex

• M.S. Brooks & Sons 1848-mid-20th c.

Use (Historic)

• Fabricated Metal Products

Largest Documented Workforce

n/a

Historic Narrative

In 1848 Simeon Brooks began making wood screws and wood-screw eyes in a 2 1/2-story frame mill with gable roof, on the North Branch of Pattaconk Brook. His son Merritt soon joined him and they built another 2 1/2-story frame mill with gable roof onto the earlier one. They designed and built unique machines which combined metal-forming and metal-cutting operations to make screw eyes, S-hooks, J -hooks and other such hardware. In 1886, on the other (north) side of the stream, they built a 2 1/2-story frame mill. Power was generated by a horizontal turbine fed by a penstock mounted on ten piers of mortared fieldstone. The 1886 building gained a 3-story ell in 1902. Outbuildings include scale house and garage. All structures and equipment survive and, except for the water power component, are used for their original purposes. The mills are now sheathed in siding. Without the fluorescent lights and some guards on the machines, the interiors would look like they did in 1890. The machinery (including a dozen c.1870 machines made by Merritt Brooks), shafting, belts, pulleys, myriad tools and set-up pieces offer concrete evidence of the scale and texture of 19th-century water-powered hardware manufacture. (Roth) It is not known if the equipment still survives as of 2016. Company records are in UConn archives.

Number of Existing Buildings

Three (3) primary blocks.

Dates of Construction

c.1848, 1886, 1902

Architect

n/a

Builder

n/a

Building Type

n/a

Architectural Description

C.1848 S 2 1/2-story, 23' x 19' frame mill with gable roof, on the North Branch of Pattaconk Brook with 2 1/2-story frame mill with gable roof, 40' x 24' addition. In 1886, on the other (north) side of the stream, they built a 2 1/2-story frame mill, 120' x 40' with gable roof and hip-roofed stair tower, with 1902 3-story ell, 75' x 30' with near-flat roof. Outbuildings include scale house and garage. (Roth)

Exterior Material(s)

• Wood

Structural System(s)

• Wood Frame

Roof Form

• Gable
• Hip Minor

Roof Material

n/a

Power Source

• Water (Turbine)

Condition

n/a

Condition Notes

n/a

Specific Location

south side of Liberty Street on Chester Creek west of North Main Street

Adjacent To

• Water (for Power)

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Parcel ID / Assessor Record Link

• 9-248 / Link →

Acreage

2.93

Use (Present)

• Other: Sold to members of the Brooks family (former owners) Dec 2018; Sweetbrooks LLC is offering mill space for lease, contact 561-246-3863 or sweetbrooksllc@gmail.com. 2022 listed for sale, residential, rehab work still needed.
• Vacant

Form Completed By

n/a

Date

n/a

Bibliography

1. Roth, Matthew, et al, Connecticut: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites (Washington DC: SIA, 1981).