[Much of this article taken verbatim from A Century of Change]
The town of Durham may have always been small but certainly has not lagged behind as far as industry is concerned. As the main route between Boston and New York in the early part of its history, Durham contained much industry that was used by it's citizens and travelers as well.
The first settlers established their homestead in 1699. From that point on as more people settled in Durham the need for a sawmill soon became apparent. In 1707 the town granted the right to several men to dam the stream along the ledges of the Arrigoni Pond allowing them to establish Durham's first industry, a sawmill. Soon after, in 1708, the town granted permission to use the same stream to build a corn mill. Again, one short year later, in 1709, the first gristmill was established just north of the present Mill Pond. From this moment on industrialized Durham centered around the Mill Pond which was conveniently situated, with abundant water, the only source of power in that day. The mill remained in operation for 160 years until a flood washed it away.
The first blacksmith shop was built in 1728 west of the gristmill with a tannery built soon thereafter on the northwest side of Mill Bridge. The hides tanned there were mostly those skinned from cattle raised locally. A store was built nearby. Other industries centrally located included two additional tanneries, shoemakers, malt house, fulling mill to treat wool and a cloth mill. In later years there was a comb shop and a spinning wheel and repair shop. Between 1765 and 1793 a potash works was in operation near Dunn Hill Road. This potash was probably used in the preparation of crude soap for Durham residents.
In 1775 Capt. Simeon Parsons … carried guns made in Durham to Boston and sold them to the Continental Army. The guns were made in a house that was located just north of Mill Pond. (The house is no longer standing).
During the latter half of the 18th century a great deal of quarrying was done in Durham. A large part of the town contained excellent quality red sandstone. John Johnson, Jr. made many of the gravestones in the old Durham cemetery from stone he quarried directly behind his house on Maiden Lane. Brownstone was quarried in several locations throughout the town. This brownstone was used in the South Building of Yale University and for the steps of the Old State House which formerly stood on the New Haven Green. Eli Whitney also used Durham brownstone to fashion grindstones for his New Haven gun factory. Many of the older homes in Durham were built on foundations of this excellent quality brownstone.
A cider mill and distillery was located on the corner of Brick Lane and Maiden Lane. Farmers brought their apples to the mill to be made into cider. They then kept a few barrels of cider themselves, exchanging the rest for brandy at the rate of one barrel of cider for one quart of brandy.
During the early 1800's Durham had several tanneries, two of which operated on the corner of Brick Lane and Maiden Lane and on Mill Bridge. These tanneries supplied leather for the Durham shoe industry, which by 1800 was the town's most important manufacturing enterprise. In 1819 shoe shops, located primarily on Main Street, employed between 300 and 400 persons and generated $30,000 to $100,000 in gross income. Women as well as men were employed in this industry, binding shoes in their spare time. The shoes were made entirely by hand, with a few simple tools, such as awls and scrapers. Most of the shoes were sent by wagon to Middletown to be loaded on to ships bound for ports in the Southern states. Salesmen from that region often visited the small Durham shops, placing orders and passing on the news of the day. Durham shoemakers also traveled from house to house in surrounding areas in search of business. When a customer was found, the shoemaker would often stay a week in the customer's home, making and fitting shoes for the entire family.
In the early days clothing was made entirely in the home. Every family had a spinning wheel; some even had large looms for the manufacture of linen, woolens and worsted. The town had a wheelwright, Deacon Johnson. He made most of the spinning wheels used in Durham. By 1827 clothier's shops had come into existence. Durham had at least two clothier shops, one located at the junction of Parmelee Hill Road and New Haven Road, the other located south of Sand Hill. Durham also supported a hatter's shop and a stocking weaver at that time.
Around the year 1865 a shingle mill was operated on Malt Brook and at the same time a sorghum mill was in operation at Mill Pond. Sorghum, a cereal grass, grown by local farmers, looks much like sugarcane. It was pressed and the extracted juice boiled into molasses.
The Durham Creamery … was located on the New Haven Road … Farmers brought milk to the firm, where the cream was separated from the milk and made into butter. The creamery was one of the first farm cooperatives in the area. The creamery closed its doors in 1906."
Durham also operated a witch hazel plant located on Birch Mill Road. Farmers from Durham and nearby communities brought witch hazel bushes for processing into extract, made by distilling the bark and leaves into alcohol.
The Durham Ice Company, formed in 1877, replaced the gristmill that was washed away in 1869. The ice business was operated well into the 1900's. Ice was the sole means of refrigeration available at the time. Families used it in their iceboxes to keep food fresh, and farmers used it during the summer to keep their milk cold.
Few people today remember when Durham was a resort town. From the end of the Civil War until 1920 or thereabouts many people from New York City and other areas arrived in Durham during the summer to vacation. Durham, a quiet, tranquil place, provided rest and relaxation.
Prior to the arrival of the automobile and even afterward Durham supported several blacksmith shops. The blacksmith, another important member of the community, forged hinges, latches and andirons, repaired wagons and buggies, and constructed a variety of farm tools. And, of course, he was always in demand to shoe horses. The last blacksmith shop owned by Fred Zieroth was in operation until the mid-1960's.
One of the most memorable business enterprises conducted in Durham began in 1890 and was owned and operated by Jacob Zeissette. A peddler by trade, he sold his wares of ladders, chairs and baskets throughout this state and Westchester County, New York. He started selling from a horse and wagon, but he later acquired a 1916 Ford truck. His truck, when fully loaded, measured 30 feet over all, and constituted a problem on heavily traveled roads and city streets, but its driver being nimble witted and expert, escaped accidents by good judgement and skill. He was known far and near as 'Jacob, the Ladder Man.'
The Arrigoni family sold their first load of charcoal to the Sargeant Manufacturing Company in New Haven, and later more charcoal to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. They eventually became the largest charcoal dealers in the state and innovated the practice of packaging their product in paper bags. The Arrigonis next turned their energies to road contracting. Their initial venture was macadamizing a road midway between Hartford and Durham. Their new company also built the first concrete road in the state on old Route 9. Arrigoni-built roads range from Mica Hill Road in Durham to Route 17, to the Merritt Parkway, and to thoroughfares in Massachusetts, New York, and Long Island. In 1941 the Arrigonis erected a ready-mix concrete plant. Today the firm operates entirely from its Middletown base and is the oldest privately owned construction company in the state.
The first of the metal companies in town was Merriam Manufacturing which organized on January 25, 1851 for the manufacture of japanned and stamped tin ware. The company produced handmade early American tin ware, such as spice boxes, milk pails, cookie molds and letterboxes. Eventually the accumulation of scrap worried White and his associates. Setting their Yankee ingenuity to work, they used old drop presses, fitted with hand cut dies to produce a variety of toys such as soldiers, Indians on horseback and trains. During the Civil War Merriam made collapsible candle lanterns for the Union Army. In the 1870's the firm abandoned the kitchenware and toy lines and entered a new field - factory built metal containers. The second metal box company, W. A. Parsons and Co. began operation in 1884 manufacturing tin cash boxes, safe-deposit boxes, display racks, typewriter covers and other tin products on a contract basis. The Durham Manufacturing Co. founded in 1922 has continued to grow until today as one of the largest manufacturers of metal boxes and cabinets in the country.
Taverns, feed businesses, lime businesses, a shade and blind company, factories, model makers, drilling companies, a telephone company… and the list goes on and on of all the different industries that have existed in Durham throughout the years. Durham's citizens have always been a hardworking and enterprising group of people.
The town of Durham may have always been small but certainly has not lagged behind as far as industry is concerned. As the main route between Boston and New York in the early part of its history, Durham contained much industry that was used by it's citizens and travelers as well.
The first settlers established their homestead in 1699. From that point on as more people settled in Durham the need for a sawmill soon became apparent. In 1707 the town granted the right to several men to dam the stream along the ledges of the Arrigoni Pond allowing them to establish Durham's first industry, a sawmill. Soon after, in 1708, the town granted permission to use the same stream to build a corn mill. Again, one short year later, in 1709, the first gristmill was established just north of the present Mill Pond. From this moment on industrialized Durham centered around the Mill Pond which was conveniently situated, with abundant water, the only source of power in that day. The mill remained in operation for 160 years until a flood washed it away.
The first blacksmith shop was built in 1728 west of the gristmill with a tannery built soon thereafter on the northwest side of Mill Bridge. The hides tanned there were mostly those skinned from cattle raised locally. A store was built nearby. Other industries centrally located included two additional tanneries, shoemakers, malt house, fulling mill to treat wool and a cloth mill. In later years there was a comb shop and a spinning wheel and repair shop. Between 1765 and 1793 a potash works was in operation near Dunn Hill Road. This potash was probably used in the preparation of crude soap for Durham residents.
In 1775 Capt. Simeon Parsons … carried guns made in Durham to Boston and sold them to the Continental Army. The guns were made in a house that was located just north of Mill Pond. (The house is no longer standing).
During the latter half of the 18th century a great deal of quarrying was done in Durham. A large part of the town contained excellent quality red sandstone. John Johnson, Jr. made many of the gravestones in the old Durham cemetery from stone he quarried directly behind his house on Maiden Lane. Brownstone was quarried in several locations throughout the town. This brownstone was used in the South Building of Yale University and for the steps of the Old State House which formerly stood on the New Haven Green. Eli Whitney also used Durham brownstone to fashion grindstones for his New Haven gun factory. Many of the older homes in Durham were built on foundations of this excellent quality brownstone.
A cider mill and distillery was located on the corner of Brick Lane and Maiden Lane. Farmers brought their apples to the mill to be made into cider. They then kept a few barrels of cider themselves, exchanging the rest for brandy at the rate of one barrel of cider for one quart of brandy.
During the early 1800's Durham had several tanneries, two of which operated on the corner of Brick Lane and Maiden Lane and on Mill Bridge. These tanneries supplied leather for the Durham shoe industry, which by 1800 was the town's most important manufacturing enterprise. In 1819 shoe shops, located primarily on Main Street, employed between 300 and 400 persons and generated $30,000 to $100,000 in gross income. Women as well as men were employed in this industry, binding shoes in their spare time. The shoes were made entirely by hand, with a few simple tools, such as awls and scrapers. Most of the shoes were sent by wagon to Middletown to be loaded on to ships bound for ports in the Southern states. Salesmen from that region often visited the small Durham shops, placing orders and passing on the news of the day. Durham shoemakers also traveled from house to house in surrounding areas in search of business. When a customer was found, the shoemaker would often stay a week in the customer's home, making and fitting shoes for the entire family.
In the early days clothing was made entirely in the home. Every family had a spinning wheel; some even had large looms for the manufacture of linen, woolens and worsted. The town had a wheelwright, Deacon Johnson. He made most of the spinning wheels used in Durham. By 1827 clothier's shops had come into existence. Durham had at least two clothier shops, one located at the junction of Parmelee Hill Road and New Haven Road, the other located south of Sand Hill. Durham also supported a hatter's shop and a stocking weaver at that time.
Around the year 1865 a shingle mill was operated on Malt Brook and at the same time a sorghum mill was in operation at Mill Pond. Sorghum, a cereal grass, grown by local farmers, looks much like sugarcane. It was pressed and the extracted juice boiled into molasses.
The Durham Creamery … was located on the New Haven Road … Farmers brought milk to the firm, where the cream was separated from the milk and made into butter. The creamery was one of the first farm cooperatives in the area. The creamery closed its doors in 1906."
Durham also operated a witch hazel plant located on Birch Mill Road. Farmers from Durham and nearby communities brought witch hazel bushes for processing into extract, made by distilling the bark and leaves into alcohol.
The Durham Ice Company, formed in 1877, replaced the gristmill that was washed away in 1869. The ice business was operated well into the 1900's. Ice was the sole means of refrigeration available at the time. Families used it in their iceboxes to keep food fresh, and farmers used it during the summer to keep their milk cold.
Few people today remember when Durham was a resort town. From the end of the Civil War until 1920 or thereabouts many people from New York City and other areas arrived in Durham during the summer to vacation. Durham, a quiet, tranquil place, provided rest and relaxation.
Prior to the arrival of the automobile and even afterward Durham supported several blacksmith shops. The blacksmith, another important member of the community, forged hinges, latches and andirons, repaired wagons and buggies, and constructed a variety of farm tools. And, of course, he was always in demand to shoe horses. The last blacksmith shop owned by Fred Zieroth was in operation until the mid-1960's.
One of the most memorable business enterprises conducted in Durham began in 1890 and was owned and operated by Jacob Zeissette. A peddler by trade, he sold his wares of ladders, chairs and baskets throughout this state and Westchester County, New York. He started selling from a horse and wagon, but he later acquired a 1916 Ford truck. His truck, when fully loaded, measured 30 feet over all, and constituted a problem on heavily traveled roads and city streets, but its driver being nimble witted and expert, escaped accidents by good judgement and skill. He was known far and near as 'Jacob, the Ladder Man.'
The Arrigoni family sold their first load of charcoal to the Sargeant Manufacturing Company in New Haven, and later more charcoal to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. They eventually became the largest charcoal dealers in the state and innovated the practice of packaging their product in paper bags. The Arrigonis next turned their energies to road contracting. Their initial venture was macadamizing a road midway between Hartford and Durham. Their new company also built the first concrete road in the state on old Route 9. Arrigoni-built roads range from Mica Hill Road in Durham to Route 17, to the Merritt Parkway, and to thoroughfares in Massachusetts, New York, and Long Island. In 1941 the Arrigonis erected a ready-mix concrete plant. Today the firm operates entirely from its Middletown base and is the oldest privately owned construction company in the state.
The first of the metal companies in town was Merriam Manufacturing which organized on January 25, 1851 for the manufacture of japanned and stamped tin ware. The company produced handmade early American tin ware, such as spice boxes, milk pails, cookie molds and letterboxes. Eventually the accumulation of scrap worried White and his associates. Setting their Yankee ingenuity to work, they used old drop presses, fitted with hand cut dies to produce a variety of toys such as soldiers, Indians on horseback and trains. During the Civil War Merriam made collapsible candle lanterns for the Union Army. In the 1870's the firm abandoned the kitchenware and toy lines and entered a new field - factory built metal containers. The second metal box company, W. A. Parsons and Co. began operation in 1884 manufacturing tin cash boxes, safe-deposit boxes, display racks, typewriter covers and other tin products on a contract basis. The Durham Manufacturing Co. founded in 1922 has continued to grow until today as one of the largest manufacturers of metal boxes and cabinets in the country.
Taverns, feed businesses, lime businesses, a shade and blind company, factories, model makers, drilling companies, a telephone company… and the list goes on and on of all the different industries that have existed in Durham throughout the years. Durham's citizens have always been a hardworking and enterprising group of people.