1881 - 1927
— State of Connecticut Archaeological Preserve —
About Bridgeport Wood Finishing Company . . .
The New Milford site at Great Falls was one of the best unused waterpower sites in Connecticut with three principal advantages when Bridgeport Wood Finishing Company began acquiring property in this area in 1881. A large waterpower supply decreased the amount of coal needed to turn quartz and other minerals to fine powder. This powder was a major ingredient in their world famous, high quality paint products. The company used a somewhat archaic system of grinding with large stone rollers which required a great deal of power. They needed coal to power steam engines which ran pumps and drying equipment and also drove grinding equipment when waterpower was insufficient. Waterpower greatly diminished the cost of buying and transporting coal from Pennsylvania.
A second advantage of the Great Falls site was its proximity to quarries for raw material. Bridgeport Wood Finishing Company bought and leased a large amount of property around Great Falls and found some quartz deposits there. When local mineral proved insufficient, the company acquired a large quarry in the Southford section of Southbury, less than fifteen miles away, which along with a few other sources served their needs well until about World War I. A final critical site advantage was the immediate proximity of the Housatonic Railroad (later Berkshire Division of New York, New Haven & Hartford) which crossed the Still River just west of the factory. The railroad brought fuel and raw materials to Bridgeport Wood Finishing Company and transported finished products as well as ground quartz or silex sold to other manufacturers.
The finely-ground minerals sold to other firms were used in high quality ceramic and abrasive products such as Bon Ami and Soapolio.
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