Connecticut Water Trails Association
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Connecticut Water Trails Association |
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Connecticut Water Trails Program History Of Connecticut's Water Trails History of Mills In Connecticut
Wilton Mills
The Old Stone Mill
by Wilbur F. Thompson.
John Taylor of Wilton was the first to operate a
mill in the location that would come to be known as the Old Stone Mill,
and at one time- Perry's Glenburg Chemical Works. John Taylor's Mill was
called Taylor's Woolen Mills or the
Satinet Factory. He built a dam a
short distance above the mill and a canal to convey the water to the
mill (this canal is still visible from the train today). He also built
the house by the mill and lived there many years.
Henry Williams, who lived a short distance below the
mill, had charge of the dyeing, carding and spinning department; his
wife was one of the weavers. A man named Eli Glover also worked there.
He afterward ran the mills known as
Glover's Woolen Mill west of
Sanford's Station in West Redding (corner of Topstone Rd and Route 7
where Cains Hill is. Cains ran
John Taylor was in business many years, and after he
retired, a Welshman named Evans, from Derby, CT, continued the business.
After this, Blackman Bros., from New Milford, ran it for a short time.
Later Dr. N. Perry, of Ridgefield, bought it; and
fitting it up for a grist mill and to grind spices, called it the
Glenburg Chemical Works. Perry attempted to change the name of
Georgetown to Glenburg, but did not succeed. His son, Samuel Perry, had
charge of the mill for many years. The famous remedies so well known in
the 1850's & 60's were made here - composition powders for colds,
magnesia powders for indigestion, the No. 9, a pain killer, demulcent,
compounds for coughs, and many others. Spices were ground and all kinds
of extracts were made and sold. The country stores all kept the Perry
remedies, spices and extracts.
After the death of Samuel Perry, the formulas for the Perry remedies came into the possession of his brother-in-law, Eli Osborn, who made them for many years, at his home in Georgetown. The mill was sold to William J. Gilbert who leased it to different parties who ran it as a grist mill. Later the mill was owned by Samuel J. Miller…the roots of the G&B factory ran deep.
The Gregory family has been in Wilton Connecticut
since, well, before it was Wilton. The Gregory Sawmill has been a Wilton
Connecticut landmark for over a century.
Located conveniently on Route 7 in Wilton, just north
of Wilton Center.
The
Norwalk River supplied power for
sawmills and gristmills. By 1809, Cannondale resident Thomas Cole used
Norwalk River power for a machine to form wheel hubs for carriages. His
brothers, Sherman and Curtis Cole, and nephews later ran the business
under the name Cole,
Nichols & Company. The plant was probably on the northeast
and southeast corners of the intersection of Seeley and Danbury roads,
with a sawmill, hub shop, blacksmith shop and a shed for trimming or
stripping, where wagons, chaises and sulkies were built. In the late
19th century, the business was replaced at the site by the
D & L Lockwood Wire Mill
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