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Rise of a Silver City
From improbable beginnings rose a world-renowned manufacturing center
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Business New Haven
3/5/2001
By: Priscilla Searles
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Incorporated in 1806 when the General Assembly granted a petition from residents of the northern part of Wallingford, Meriden became a city in 1867, and in 1922 town and city were consolidated. But its growth wasn't a painless process. The quiet town began primarily as a farming community trying to make a living from rather sterile soil. It was a town whose history would be marked by dramatic changes.
In the Beginning
Meriden's roots go back to the earliest days of Connecticut. Although none of the Indian tribes lived in this territory, it was once a permanent camping ground for the Quinnipiacs and Mattabesitts. And as in most of Connecticut, Meriden's first roads followed old Indian trails. At one time part of the New Haven settlement, in 1645 the founders of New Haven established a treaty for land with the Quinnipiac Indians that included parts of present-day Meriden.
The battles over who controlled this part of Connecticut were hard-fought. Wethersfield, Wallingford, Farmington and Middletown all claimed the northern part of Meriden, but in 1670 it was decided that most of present-day Meriden would become part of Wallingford. It would take would take 136 years for Meriden to become independent of Wallingford.
Jonathan Gilbert, a fur trades and innkeeper, is the one most frequently credited with establishing this rural community, or at least, being one of its first settlers. In 1661 the Connecticut Colony granted him “a farm to ye number of three hundred acres of upland and fifty acres of meadow.”
Gilbert was given permission to keep an ordinary (tavern or inn) at his house, located at “Cold Spring.” But Gilbert jumped the gun, building his house before he had permission to settle in the area. He called his farm Meriden, although it was spelled in various ways: Meridon, Merrideen and Merridan.
A man of wealth and wide-ranging interests, Gilbert had a tenant, Edward Higbee, living on his land. In 1686 the property was purchased by Gilbert's son-in-law, Andrew Belcher, who greatly expanded the property. The origins of the name are unknown, but the word Meriden means “pleasant valley.” Or perhaps the town was named after Meriden, England.
Meriden's growth was painstaking. In its earliest days, settlers were afraid of unfriendly Indians; wolves too were a constant threat. Farming began slowly but by 1729 there were some 25 families living in Meriden. By 1770 the number had grown to 123 families. The beginnings of a village near the meeting house, built in 1724, began to appear, appealing to those who didn't make their living farming or in other agricultural pursuits. By 1820 the population of Meriden was 1,249, with 105 of this number were engaged in manufacturing.
The center of activity was the tavern owned by Dr. Insign Hough, located at the corner of Broad and East Main streets. It was here that the selectman and other town officers maintained their headquarters, books of the public library were kept and farmers met to discuss the events of the day. In addition, twice-a-day the stagecoaches, running between Hartford and New Haven, stopped to change horses and give the passengers an opportunity to “sample the bountiful larder provided by the doctor.”
In addition to the tavern, there were a handful of businesses such as Ambrose Hough the miller, Butler & Olds tanners and Amos White & Co., storekeepers.
Life wasn't easy for the early settlers of Meriden, but New Englanders have always been a creative lot. In the early days of Meriden residents were permitted to work off their tax obligations by assisting in repairing highways. In 1807 this work was credited at a rate of 75 cents per day in spring and 67 cents in fall. By 1815 the rate had jumped to $1.25 in spring and $1 in autumn.
Some Meriden residents began having success in the manufacturing field, creating the need for a bank. The Meriden Bank organized in 1833 with capital of $100,000, opening on North Broad Street.
Traveling to and from Meriden in its early years was a challenge, as roads were few. In 1666 the General Assembly ordered Edward Higby “for making and maintaining the way over Pilgrums Harbour passable for man and horse, shall have his estate and farme free of Countrey (rates) for this yeare and next, he mainteining the way soe longe as foresaid.”
But roads did begin to develop and in 1799 the turnpike opened. It wasn't until 1839 that travel became less traumatic when the railroad began operation between New Haven and Meriden, reaching Hartford a year later.
The Rise of Manufacturing
Meriden went through hard economic times following the American Revolution. Local businesses were devoted to necessary products. John Butler opened a boot and shoe business on South Market Street (later called Broad Street) in 1792. The town also boasted a stone-cutting yard and blacksmith shop.
Early manufacturers included Samuel Yale, who made cut nails, then buttons made of pewter. Patrick Clark manufactured tinware. Other products included wooden clocks, ivory products, wood, boxwood and horn combs, auger bits and rakes.
The Gazetteer of Connecticut and Rhode Island by Pease & Nile, published in 1819 said “a spirit of enterprise and activity in business characterizes the inhabitants of this (Meriden) town. Various manufacturers and mechanical employments are carried on: but those of tin ware and buttons are most important. There are five district factories of the former, and equal number of the latter, for making metal buttons: and 1 factory for ivory buttons.”
In 1833 the Gazetteer of the U.S. reported that Meriden was “an important manufacturing place but with little water power,” listing britannia coffee pots, spoons, coffee mills, waffle irons and signal lanterns.
Ivory combs were another major Meriden product. Julius Pratt & Co., successor to Howard Pratt & Co. became the leader in this field. Great elephant tusks, weighing 60 to 80 pounds each, were brought to the plant and turned into combs in about 20 operations. At one time Pratt produced three-quarters of the ivory combs made in America.
Always on the lookout for products that could be sold from peddlers' wagons, Jedediah Wilcox produced carpetbags, hoop skirts and balmorals (a type of woolen skirt.) Meriden was on its way to becoming a critical manufacturing center for Connecticut. In 1835 historian John Barber described Meriden as “one of the most flourishing and enterprising manufacturing towns in the State.”
Silver City of the World
Meriden's silver industry had its beginnings in the 1850s when several small companies joined forces to form the Meriden Britannia Co. Eventually it merged with others to become the International Silver Co. Its roots go back to the days when Meriden was producing bone handles for cutlery, but even as late as the 1840s Meriden's silver manufacturing was still in its infancy.
Tin and pewter were being produced there, pewter gaining in popularity to overcome the scarcity of tin. When tin once more became available britannia came on the scene. More brilliant in appearance, it was harder and more resistant to wear and could be cleaned and polished to a high luster.
One of the earliest manufacturers of britannia ware was Ashbil Griswold. Isaac C. Lewis, George Curtis and Darius Bingham produced britannia as well as pewter, and there were many others. Innovators were beginning to pioneer new lines and new manufacturing methods.
Horace C. Wilcox, seeking goods to sell from his peddler's wagon, became acquainted with Rogers brothers of Hartford, who had developed a new process for plating silver. The company imported from Germany silver spoons and forks, coating them with pure silver. Wilcox added them to his stock, making enough money to fund the Meriden Britannia Co., organized in 1852 by Wilcox and Dennis Wilcox, Isaac C. Lewis, William W. Lyman, Lemuel J. Curtis, John Munson and James A. Frary.
The Meriden Britannia Co. began experimenting with the process the Rogers brothers were using to coat flatware. An instant success, in its first full year of operation Meriden Britannia sold wares - made by its own plants and purchased from other manufacturers - grossing more than $250,000. By 1860 the company was employing 320 people and producing $1 million worth of plated wares annually.
In 1898 13 independent companies were consolidated, including Meriden Britannia. Several others were later added, giving birth to the International Silver Co., incorporated that same year.
Other companies made a major contribution to Meriden's economic growth but it was silver products that made it known far and near as the “Silver City of the World.”
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