Norwich has been a center for manufacturing for hundreds of years. Manufacturers were naturally drawn to Norwich due to the availability of power at Yantic Falls and the Shetucket River, the availability of both rail and ocean access, and the ingenuity and hard work of Norwich citizens. The history of many of the Norwich manufacturers are highlighted here at the Iconic Norwich website. The descriptions of the manufacturers are arranged first by location and then by time period.
You can find a manufacturer by clicking on one of the sites listed below or by searching in the table listed below.
The history of the Norwich gun manufacturers are listed in a separate category. They can be accessed by clicking HERE.
Choose a Manufacturing Site
| Placemark | Placemark Link | Keywords | Info Source | Source Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1660-166? John Elderkin Gristmill | Click Here | grist mill | History of Norwich, Connecticut: From Its Possession From the Indians, to the Year 1866, pp 72-73 | Click Here |
| 1660-1990s Overview of Upper Yantic Falls Manufacturers | Click Here | Upper Yantic Falls | A Sketch of Norwich from Actual Survey (1833) | Click Here |
| 1748-1798? Bean Hill Linseed Oil Mill | Click Here | linseed oil, Bean Hll, flaxseed | A Modern History of New London County Connectiuct, Volume 1, page 148, (1922) | Click Here |
| 175?-179? Elijah Backus Iron Works | Click Here | Elijah Backus Iron Works, Yantic manufacturer | Captain Elijah Backus | Click Here |
| 1766-1772 Christopher Leffingwell Paper Mill | Click Here | Paper mill, upper Yantic Falls | Paper and Provisions: Christopher Leffingwell and Connecticut During the American Revolution | Click Here |
| 1778-179? Lower Falls Linseed Oil Mills | Click Here | linseed oil, flaxseed, lower Yantic Falls | A Modern History of New London County Connectiuct, Volume 1, page 160, (1922) | Click Here |
| 1781-1798 Tracy's Mills on Bean Hill | Click Here | Bean Hill, grist mill, forge, blacksmith shop, Andrew Tracy | Andrew Tracy (1742-1801) | Click Here |
| 1786-1834 Pottery on Bean Hill | Click Here | Bean Hill, manufacturer, pottery, Andrew Tracy, William Cleveland, Armstrong and Wentworth | New London County Stonewares and Mashantucket Pequot Pottery from the Late 18th Century, (Nov 2014) | Click Here |
| 1786-1990s Overview of Bean Hill Manufacturers | Click Here | Maps | A Sketch of Norwich from Actual Survey (1833) | Click Here |
| 1811-1857 Russell Hubbard's Paper Mill | Click Here | Russell Hubbard | History of Norwich, Connecticut: From Its Possession From the Indians, to the Year 1866, pp 613-614 | Click Here |
| 1813-1823 Iron & Nail Company | Click Here | William C. Gilman, nail | A Modern History of New London County Connectiuct, Volume 1, page 151, (1922) | Click Here |
| 1813-1960 Overview of Lower Yantic Falls Manufacturers | Click Here | Maps | A Sketch of Norwich from Actual Survey (1833) | Click Here |
| 1814-1864 Uncas Mill | Click Here | Francis Loomis, Bean Hill, Clinton Mill, Uncas Mill | History of Norwich, Connecticut: From Its Possession From the Indians, to the Year 1866, pp 614-615 | Click Here |
| 1814-1864 Uncas Mill | Click Here | Francis Loomis, Bean Hill, Clinton Mill, Uncas Mill | Brief History of 'The Rose of New England' | Click Here |
| 1818-1837 Amos Hubbard's Paper Mill | Click Here | Hubbard Paper Mill, lower Yantic falls | History of Norwich, Connecticut: From Its Possession From the Indians, to the Year 1866, page 613 | Click Here |
| 1823-1960s Cotton Mill at Lower Yantic Falls | Click Here | falls cotton mill, lower yantic falls, Falls Company | Norwich Connecticut: Its Importance as a Business and Manufacturing Centre and as a Place of Residence (1888), page 18 | Click Here |
| 1826-1910s Overview of Greeneville Manufacturers | Click Here | Maps | Map of New London County, Connecticut (1854) | Click Here |
| 1827-1865 First Yantic Woolen Mill | Click Here | Yantic, wool, mill, Erastus, Williams | American Woolen Company | Click Here |
| 1835-1867 Camp, Hall & Co Paper Mill | Click Here | Greeneville | National Register of Historic Places Registration Form | Click Here |
| 1837-1860 Hubbard Brothers Paper Mill | Click Here | cotton, mill, Francis Loomis, Francis B. Loomis | Genealogy and Biographical Record of New London County Connecticut, 1905, pp 19-20 | Click Here |
| 1840 - 1923 Shetucket Company Cotton Mill | Click Here | cotton mill, Greeneville, William P. Greene | Special Acts and Resolutions of the State of Connecticut, Vol. 6, from the Year 1866-1870, (1872), page 957 | Click Here |
| 1840-1901 Norwich Bleaching, Dyeing & Printing Co. | Click Here | Blackstone, Greeneville, textile finishing | National Register of Historic Places Registration Form | Click Here |
| 1845-1881 Sidney Risley Pottery in Thamesville | Click Here | pottery, Sidney Risley, Thamesville | A Modern History of New London County Connecticut, Vol. 2, (1922), pp 550-551 | Click Here |
| 1845-1955 Overview of Thamesville Manufacturers | Click Here | West Side, Thamesville, map | Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, 1892 | Click Here |
| 1845-1955 Overview of Thamesville Manufacturers | Click Here | West Side, Thamesville, map | The Gas and Electric Early History | Click Here |
| 1848-1955 Overview of Yantic Manufacturing Site | Click Here | cotton, wool, mill Erastus Williams | National Register of Historic Places Registration Form | Click Here |
| 1859-1861 Greenman and True Manufacturing Company | Click Here | Sewing machine, Central Wharf | Greenman & True Sewing Machine | Click Here |
| 1864-1910 Clinton Mill | Click Here | ladies cloth, dress goods, cloaks, Bean Hill, Loomis, Elting, Saxton, Hitchon, Glen, Turner and Stanton | Clinton Mills | Click Here |
| 1866-1972 Ponemah Mills | Click Here | Taftville | Ponemah Mills, HABS No. CONN-242, 1960 | Click Here |
| 1867-1890 Chelsea Manufacturing Paper Mill | Click Here | paper mill, Greeneville | Norwich, CT, USA | Click Here |
| 1872-1891 Norwich Lock Mfg Co | Click Here | Lock, Greeneville | Norwich Connecticut: Its Importance as a Business and Manufacturing Centre and as a Place of Residence (1888), page 27 | Click Here |
| 1878?-1914? Norwich Nickel & Brass Co | Click Here | Nickel, Brass, Aiken | Souvenir Edition of the Norwich Evening Record, Norwich, The Rose of New England, 1894, page 61 | Click Here |
| 1889-1938 Norwich Cutlery Co. | Click Here | silverware, silver, Thamesville | International Silver Company | Click Here |
| 1893-1927 Uncas Paper Company | Click Here | Uncas Paper | Norwich West Side Paper Mill, circa 1905 | Click Here |
| 1893-1927 Uncas Paper Company | Click Here | Uncas Paper | Souvenir Edition of the Norwich Evening Record, Norwich, The Rose of New England, 1894, page 61 | Click Here |
| 1898-1938 J.B. Martin Velvet Mill | Click Here | Taftville Velvet | JB Martin | Click Here |
| 1916-1921 Norwich Woolen Co. - Thamesville | Click Here | wool,Thamesville | American Woolen Company | Click Here |
| 1921-1955 American Woolen Co. - Thamesville | Click Here | wool,Thamesville | American Woolen Company | Click Here |
| 1923-1969 Werman's Shoe Factory | Click Here | Thamesville shoe factory, Gustave Werman, Abraham Werman, Herman Werman, Jacob Werman | C.B. Rogers and Company and Employees, Norwich (1880) | Click Here |
| 1930-1972 Thames Belting Company | Click Here | Van Tassel, Thames Belting Co | 60 Years Later, Memories of Fatal Van Tassel Warehouse Fire Remain Vivid in Norwich (04/03/2022) | Click Here |