Plainfield

By Plainfield Historical Society

There are two dozen places in the United States named Plainfield, but Plainfield, Connecticut, was the first. When it was incorporated in 1699, Colonial governor Fitz-John Winthrop named the town for its rich, fertile fields along the Quinebaug River. During the 1700s, the town was transformed from Native American country to a farming community populated by English settlers. In the 1800s, textile mills were built along the Moosup and Quinebaug Rivers, and Plainfield became an industrial town attracting workers from all over New England, Canada, and Europe. Today the textile industry is gone, and the surviving mills have been converted to other uses. Located in the northeastern part of the state, Plainfield is in the heart of the breathtaking Quinebaug-Shetucket National Heritage Corridor.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Sep 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781439634783

Plainfield Historical Society

This book was compiled by the Plainfield Historical Society and complements Christopher P. Bickford�s history titled Plainfield Transformed: Three Centuries of Life in a Connecticut Town, 1699�1999. The photographs reflect life during the textile-mill era from the late 1800s to early 1950s. Both professional and amateur photographers produced the pictures, many of which are from the society�s collection. The narrative is based on original source materials and the stories of residents who loaned photographs for this project.

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INTRODUCTION

Plainfield, settled in 1689, was originally known by its Native American name, Quinebaug. When the town was incorporated in 1699 by the general court of the Connecticut colony, Gov. Fitz-John Winthrop renamed the town for its rich, fertile fields along the Quinebaug River. During the century that followed, the town was transformed from Native American territory to a farming community populated by English settlers.

By the Revolutionary War, most commercial enterprises were centered along the ridge in Plainfield village near the Congregational church and Plainfield Academy. In the 1800s, textile mills were established along the Moosup and Quinebaug Rivers. The mills used local waterpower but relied on technology and capital from Rhode Island and raw materials, bales of raw cotton, imported from the South. By 1900, there were a total of 51 manufacturing firms ranging from a few persons per business to cotton and woolen mills with as many as 500 employees. The industry peaked around 1910 and then entered a slow decline until the disaster of the Great Depression. Plainfield’s economy today is based on a diversified group of industries.

Every aspect of Plainfield has been shaped by its textile mill experience, which led to the construction of large mills and streets of mill housing and stimulated the emergence of separate factory villages attracting workers from all over New England, Canada, and Europe. Even today, the town is divided into four mill village communities, Moosup, Central Village, Wauregan, and Plainfield, served by separate fire companies and post offices. Plainfield’s past continues to exert its influence on the present in countless ways.

The photographs in this book reflect life in the textile mill era from the late 1880s to the early 1950s.

UNION MILL DAM IN WINTER, 1914. Fast-moving water powered the early gristmills, sawmills, and fulling mills where woolen cloth woven by local families was cleaned and thickened. In the early 1800s, with the mechanization of spinning and weaving, cotton and woolen mills were built, and communities grew up around them. By the early 1900s, four major manufacturing villages had emerged in the town, each with its own post office, fire brigade, and graded school.

One

THE VILLAGE OF MOOSUP

UNION/ALDRICH MILL SITE, MOOSUP, C. 1915. In the 1700s, Moosup was a farming area. Some farmers had established small gristmills, sawmills, and fulling mills on the Moosup River. In 1809, a partnership of local and Providence-based capital formed the Union Manufacturing Company, which built a factory along the Moosup River to spin cotton into yarn. The community around the mill was called Uniondale. The site is currently owned by Kaman Corporation. (Courtesy of Tom Guillemette.)

ALDRICH MILL, C. 1915. Sampson Almy bought the Union Mill, originally a small wooden building, in 1850 and rebuilt it in stone. In 1880, David Aldrich purchased the factory. The textile mill closed in 1935. In the late 1930s, Majestic Metals occupied the site making vanity cases and fishing rods. During World War II, the factory made cases for incendiary bombs, including those used by Gen. James H. Doolittle in his daring raid on Tokyo in June 1942.

STEAM ENGINE AT ALDRICH MILL, C. 1915. When waterpower was insufficient, textile mills relied on steam power. In the 19th century, steam engines were not welcome everywhere. They brought pollution and the possibility of fire and explosion. Coal or wood, burned in the firebox of the boiler, heated the water and turned it to steam. The power of the engine transmitted via a leather belt to an overhead shaft drove other belts that powered the machines. This steam engine is still on-site.

ALDRICH MILL PAY RECEIPT, 1904. Before World War I, 650 people operated 10,000 twisting spindles, 38,500 ring frame spindles, 80 cards, and 1,475 looms at the Aldrich Mill. Savo Stankovich took home $1.40 for a day’s labor. A day often meant daybreak to sundown. (Courtesy of Rose Garosshen.)

GLADDING/CRANSKA MILL SITE, C. 1900. In 1817, Joseph S. Gladding, an investor in the Union Mill, built his mill upstream on the Moosup River. In 1832, he built a new cotton mill, which was subsequently owned by several other companies. In 1880, the site was purchased by Floyd Cranska to produce fine cotton thread. Cranska’s closed in 1956 and was purchased by the Griswold Rubber Company. (Courtesy of Millridge Manor.)

CRANSKA MILL AND VILLAGE, C. 1930. During the 19th century, the area around this mill was known as Gladding’s Village or Kishwaukee. At one time, the mill is said to have manufactured sheeting material with a distinct brand name and insignia, the head of a Native American named Kishwaukee; thus, both the cloth and this section of Moosup were so named. All Hallows Catholic church is on the horizon in this western view. (Courtesy of Tom Guillemette.)

WORKERS AT CRANSKA MILL, C. 1900. In the late 1800s, many French Canadian workers arrived to work in the mills. In 1895, the Cranska Mill had 5,000 spindles and employed more than 100 workers. Between 6,000 and 7,000 pounds of thread were manufactured each week, and the mill ran night and day. (Courtesy of Millridge Manor.)