History of South Windham, Connecticut
South Windham is a pleasant little village about three and a half miles
southeast from Willimantic. It is beautifully situated, amid romantic
surroundings of hill and marsh, cultivated field and wooded plain, winding
through all of which the swift, dark waters of the Shetucket gracefully
ripple on their merry course to the sea. It has stations on the Providence
Division of the New York & New England, and on the New London Northern
railroads. It lies thirteen miles north-northwest from Norwich. It is
situated in the southern part of the township, not far from the line. It
has a population of about six hundred, and is the center of considerable
manufacturing interest. Many years ago the facilities offered by the
stream at this point were appreciated and turned to account in various
small ways. By the development of inventive genius on the part of men
associated with the locality it was made the seat of manufacturing
operations of great importance to the country. About 1827 George Spafford
of this place, a man of much mechanical insight, having been employed in
fitting up the Fourdrinier machine for making paper at North Windham,
formed a partnership with James Phelps, and they set to work to construct
a duplicate. They first began work at New Furnace, in Stafford, on account
of the foundry facilities to be had there. Nine men, under Charles Smith
as foreman, were kept at work within closed doors, with ordinary hand
tools and a single power lathe. Yankee ingenuity triumphed over every
obstacle, and. completed an improvement upon the original Fourdrinier
machine. It was sold to Amos D. Hubbard, and put in successful operation
at Norwich Falls, in May, 1829. A second machine was soon afterward
completed and sold to Henry Hudson of East Hartford. Both yielded such
excellent results that the projectors were encouraged to make preparations
for the permanent continuance of the business, and accordingly erected
suitable accommodations on the site of an old fulling mill at this place.
Their works were ready for occupancy early in 1830. Here they built mills
for customers in many different states, and supplied parts of machinery.
This, it is claimed, was the first paper making machinery successfully
working in this country. It should have been mentioned that the first
Fourdrinier machine was brought to this country about 1827, from Germany,
by an Englishman named Pickering, who employed Spafford to assist in
setting it in operation. In 1830 the firm sent Charles Pickering, son of
the first mentioned, to England to investigate the process of steam drying
used in that country, and soon after that time Spafford invented the
present paper cutter- The firm removed their works to South Windham in
November, 1830, and commenced operations in the following February. They
then employed about ten hands and finished six to eight machines a year.
These machines were valued at from $2,000 to $3,500 apiece. About the year
1838, Charles Smith, .a millwright, and Harvey Winchester, a blacksmith,
who had been employees of Spafford, Phelps & Co., were admitted into the
firm, the capital stock of which at that time was $50,000. Owing to
financial troubles during the years 1838 to 1840, the stock of Phelps and
Spafford was sold to the other partners and the firm of Smith, Winchester
& Co. was formed. George Spafford died soon after this, heavily involved.
James Phelps invented Phelps' patent washer-,-and accumulated some
property before his death. Since that time the business has been conducted
under the name of Smith, Winchester & Co. They employ about one hundred
hands, and have manufactured machines that weighed one hundred tons each
and cost $20,000. Where formerly machines were made from forty-seven to
forty-eight inches wide and run forty feet a minute, they are now made one
hundred inches wide and run two hundred and fifty feet a minute. The main
features, however, remain the same as when their manufacture was first
begun. The firm have again and again been compelled to enlarge their works
and build new conveniences for storage. The Little Pigeon Swamp brook,
which sometimes ran dry during the summer, was made permanently effective
by the construction of reservoirs covering the former swamp. A prosperous
village has grown up around this establishment, and other industries have
been added.
Amos D. Allen was a manufacturer of furniture at South Windham. His son
Edwin inherited a large share of the inventive genius of the family.
Incidentally visiting a printing office at Norwich one day, he became
interested in seeing a font of wood type, and at once conceived the idea
of manufacturing it by machinery. He set to work and soon had the idea in
practical operation, and with such success that about the year 1827 he
established in a small way the business of manufacturing wood type at this
place. Though many improvements have been made in the manufacture of wood
type yet the principle of the chief machines used by Mr. Allen is still
preserved. The business made fair progress under his control, there being
at that time but one other establishment in the country engaged in the
same work, that being Darius Wells & Co., of Paterson, N. J. In 1837 Mr.
Allen entered into partnership with George F. Nesbit of New York city, who
under his own name introduced the wood type to the trade, while Mr. Allen
conducted the manufacture in South Windham. The business made fair
progress, though encountering the opposition incident to new inventions.
-Later on another man came upon the stage with an additional fund of
inventive genius and executive ability in the person of William H. Page,
of New Hampshire. He had served many years in the practical work of a
printing office, and after considerable time spent in experimenting in
that direction, he obtained the machinery which had been used in the.
business by others and started a factory on his own account in 1856.
During the next year many improvements were made in his machinery, and a
much superior kind of type was produced. The business survived the panic
of 1857 in a healthy state, and in the fall of that year was removed to
Greenville, in the suburbs of Norwich, where it was carried on more
extensively.
Following another line of the history of wood type manufacture in this
town we will go back again to Edwin Allen. He was the originator of the
business here, and started business in an old building which stood, near
the. machine shop. He afterward erected a shop about one mile west, on his
father's farm, where he employed steam for power. His method was original
and he kept it a secret to all except his employees. " No Admittance " was
painted upon the doors of his shop and the rule was strictly adhered to.
This was about the year 1840. Some twelve persons were employed, and type
cases, galleys and other wooden materials used in printing offices were
manufactured, as well as wood type, and block letters for signs were also
cut out. Allen failed in business, and afterward moved the shop down to
where he building now stands, being used by the present American Wood Type
Company. John G. Cooley bought the business and removed it to New York
city. In April, 1878, the American Wood Type Company, then composed of C.
H. Tubbs, John Martin and George L. Kies, formerly connected with the Page
Company, began the manufacture of wood type in the building which years
before had been occupied by Allen. They ran the business for five years,
and then the other partners turned their interests over to Mr. Tubbs, who
now represents the company, and the establishment is in active operation.
The shop has capacity and machinery to employ seventeen hands. They have
patterns on hand to manufacture two hundred different styles of type, in
all sizes ranging from two-line up to 100-line. The works are run by water
power supplied-by the Pigeon Swamp brook.
The Radial Thread Buff Company of South Windham was organized in 1883, for
the purpose of introducing a patent article invented by Robert Binns,
which they commenced to manufacture in a small way. The patented article
is a wheel from eight to twelve inches in diameter, made of cotton cloth,
the filling being cotton rags. This wheel is used by silver platers to
burnish their ware. The company also make wheels from whole stock, but in
the manufacture of scrap wheels they are the only concern in the country.
The present production is from fifteen to twenty thousand monthly, and
employment is given to about fifteen hands. Robert Binns was born in
Providence, R. I., January 9th, 1844, and is of English descent, being the
eldest son of Robert and Hannah Binns. He is .a machinist by trade, and he
came to South Windham in 1873. He married Mary Rue and they have six
children: Mary, Nancy, Frederic, Bertha, Eva and Eugene.
There is also at South Windham a grist mill, owned by Mr E. H. Holmes. It
is situated in the village, near the track of the New London Northern
railroad. It was built by Mr. E. H. Holmes, the father of the present
owner, about the year 1848. It has a capacity of about eighteen
horse-power, and grinds from twenty-five to thirty thousand bushels a
year. One room in this grist mill is occupied by Robert Binns in the
manufacture of a patent slitter blade, which is self sharpening and has an
improved slitter hub. Slitter blades are a pair of cutting disks with
edges working together like the edges of a pair of scissors. This
manufacture is a new enterprise, but it is meeting with deserved success.
The only church of this village is an offshoot from the Congregational
church of Windham. For twenty-five years, more or less, services have been
conducted here on occasional Sabbaths or on week-day evenings. The old
Fitch school house is used for religious services. This, is a building
once intended for a private school, and is rented of private owners for
religious services. It stands near and is connected with the Warner House,
a hotel of commodious size standing near the depot of the New London
Northern railroad. It is now owned by Alfred Kinne. For a few years back
religious services on Sunday have been omitted, but in March, 1888, a
Society of Christian Endeavor was formed here, and in the following
December a church was organized, which now numbers eighteen members.
During the winter a revival occurred. Since December 7th, 1888, preaching
services have been held every Sunday afternoon by the pastor of the old
church at Windham Centre. A Sunday school is also maintained here.
South Windham is a pleasant village, with wide streets and elm-shaded
walks, lighted with gas. The surrounding country is hilly, and on an
eminence on the west stands a modern antique structure of respectable
dimensions, just completed for a summer hotel. It overlooks the village.
and surroundings, and is a conspicuous object for miles around. Its site
affords charming landscapes of the Shetucket valley and the surrounding
country. The road from South Windham northerly toward the old center of
the town crosses the Shetucket over a covered wooden bridge 252 feet long,
over the portals of which may be -read the usual legend of warning, in
great black letters on a white ground, "The riding or driving any Horses,
Teams or Carriages on this Bridge in a Gait faster than a Walk is by Law
prohibited." On the east side of the river is' the depot of the Providence
Division of the New England railroad, about oneeighth of a mile from the
other. Cleared farms occupy most of the hills of the vicinity, which are
somewhat bold and rugged, while among them the Shetucket, a beautiful
stream, swiftly and gracefully glides in many a rippling curve.
Back to: Windham, Windham County, Connecticut History
Source: History of Windham County, Connecticut, Bayles, Richard M.; New York: W.W. Preston, 1889