Hendey factory in 1889 and 1896

[Robert Lang]

Hendey factory illustrations.

1889(number 4)

1896

Rob

 

[james robert]

Hi Robert, It looks like Hendy grew a lot in eight years. In the first drawing I count around 20 private dwellings near the plant and in the 1896 drawing maybe a couple. Its fun to just scroll back and forth and compair.

Thank you.

James

 

[George Andreasen]

Robert, those are really interesting. The oddly shaped "tower" is very evident and is shown in photographs posted here some time ago. Really drives the point home on how old the company is (was). I wouldn't mind having a blown up copy of each. Can you reveal your source?

 

[Jim Christie]

Robert ,
Thanks for posting the photos.
I didn’t check to see if this was posted somewhere on this forum before but I looked to see what I could find about Hendey and Torrington .
There are some other pictures of the factory here
Factory
1873
The Hendey Machine Company, 1870-1920; a brief record of a charted course
Before 1920
The Hendey Machine Company, 1870-1920; a brief record of a charted course
source
The Hendey Machine Company, 1870-1920; a brief record of a charted course (1922)
The Hendey Machine Company, 1870-1920; a brief record of a charted course : Hendey Machine Company : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive
I think someone may have mentioned that they had a printed copy of the book a while ago.
History of Torrington to 1878
History of Torrington, Connecticut, from its first settlement in 1737, with biographies and genealogies : Orcutt, Samuel, 1824-1893 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive
There were no results for Hendey when used the search function inside this book for Hendey but the book was printed in the very early years of the company.
Regards,
Jim

 

[Robert Lang]

In the first drawing I count around 20 private dwellings near the plant and in the 1896 drawing maybe a couple.

That can be deceiving.
The one from 1889 is a map of all the buildings in Torrington while the one from 1896 is a private illustration of the factory. By private I mean that Hendey had an illustrator do an illustration of the factory. When doing this the illustrator would not put in all of the private buildings as they would detract from the factory view.


It is interesting to note the factory view of 1873, that Jim Christie posted.
This is the same main building that can be seen in both the 1889 and 1896 views but before it is lengthened and the side additions added. The front end of the 1873 factory is the same as the front of the 1896 view(where the wagon is comming out of) save for the small roof shelter addition.

Rob

 

[Robert Lang]

I wouldn't mind having a blown up copy of each. Can you reveal your source?

The 1896 view I got from the Vintage Machinery site. I used it as a comparison to the 1889 view.

VintageMachinery.org - Hendey Machine Co. - 1896 Image-Hendey Machine Co., Factory


The 1889 view came from the Library of Congress Panoramic Maps.
I had to search the map inch by inch and blow it up.

Panoramic Maps Collection

Torrington, Conn. : 1889 / drawn & published by Geo. E. Norris, Brockton, Mass., 1889.

Rob

 

[hendeyman]

Robert Lang:

One nice thing about both drawings is that they show the evolution of the original 1873
building. The 1896 rendering shows the site before most of the original buildings to the
left of the office and engineering building were razed to make room for the new shop
buildings. More construction followed to the right of the office and engineering building
as shown in the 1870 to 1920 book. The pre1896 complex look like it might have been
a fun place to work, not so large that you didn't know most of the people who worked
there.

Hendeyman

 

[Robert Lang]

It is also neat to look at the 1873 factory and say that's where my planer was built and to look at the 1889 view, where my lathe was built. I can just imagine looking in the windows and see my lathe being built.

Rob

 

[Robert Lang]

1873

1903
The 1873 building is still there. Some of the side additions have been removed.

1907
1873 building gone.

Rob

 

[Jim Christie]

The layout drawing here shows the first and second shops in relation to the rest of the plant I would presume about 1920
The Hendey Machine Company, 1870-1920; a brief record of a charted course

Not exactly looking through the window but likely as close as we can get now
Lathe Dept.
The Hendey Machine Company, 1870-1920; a brief record of a charted course
Planer Dept.
The Hendey Machine Company, 1870-1920; a brief record of a charted course

Regards,
Jim

 

[Robert Lang]

From Mechanics of Feb. 1883.

Rob

 

[Robert Lang]

Hendey factory in 1875-1878 in Wolcottville.
From Panoramic Maps.
Building by the locomotive.

Rob