Environmental Site Overview - East Hampton, Connecticut

SECTION 4 INITIAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Tighe&Bond
was supplied throughout the complex from pipes routed from an 80,000-gallon water
tank. This tank is still visible from Summit Street.
Summit Thread Mills
Current reference location: Remnants of the Summit Thread Mill exists at 13 Summit
Street, 1 Watrous Street and 13 Watrous Street. Their site numbers are 2, 3, and 5 on
Figure 2, respectively. 13 Summit Street is the location of the former west mill. 1
Watrous Street is the location of the former east mill. 13 Watrous is the location of the
former Summit Thread Mills powerhouse.
Merrick and Connant Manufacturing Company, makers of silk thread, built the major
portion of this plant but occupied it only two years. Summit Thread Company bought
the property in 1882. Summit made cotton and silk thread that was sold on readywound
bobbins for Singer-type sewing machines. By 1900 the firm was also making
sewing machines attachments, such as tension regulators and bobbin sheaths, for use
with its ready-wound bobbins. The 1880 plant featured two brick mills on opposite
sides of Summit Street.
The 3-story west mill, 174 ft x 47 ft, has a near-flat roof and central stair tower. The
1903 Sanborn Map describes the first floor as a storage and engine room, the second
floor as a winding area, and the third floor used for spooling and dressing. To the
north of the building was a two floor addition that housed the carpenter and machine
shop. Further north, attached to this building, was an area designated for a blacksmith.
Attached to this building was a generator. A covered tail race brought water from the
building to the Third Pond (no longer exists). This tail race provided water for the
turbine engine. A second covered tail race is illustrated emanating from a building
designated for shipping and box storage. This building was located east of the west
mill. To the north of this building are depicted two additional buildings, a store house
and an engine room. A penstock water leads from the Second Pond to the engine
room.
The 1903 Sanborn Map depicts the 175 ft x 38 ft 2-story east mill. The first floor was
used as a dye room and the second floor was used for drying. To the south of this
building a railroad extension from the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad
is shown. A steel frame bridge connected the two mills across Summit Street (formerly
Mill Street). This bridge is visible in 1970’s aerial photographs but not in the 1986
pictures. The power source for the complex is noted as water and steam, the heat is
listed as steam, the fuel is listed as coal, and the lighting is listed as electric.
The 1908 Sanborn Map reveals little change from the 1903 map. The 1914 Sanborn
Map portrays the addition of a 40,000-gallon water tank with water pipes distributed
throughout both mill complexes. A fire pump (750 gallons per minute) was situated
near the Second Pond at the northern extent of the property.
Environmental Site Overview 4-6