Israel Coe, a farmer of Connecticut, John Hungerford, of Connecticut, and Anson G. Phelps, a capitalist of New York, and founder of the house of Phelps, Dodge & Company, were pioneers in brass manufacturing in this country, and in 1834 they built a brass-mill at Wolcottville, now Torrington, Conn. Previous to 1830 brass was imported, or manufactured here in a very.primitive way. As early as 1811 James G. Moffett of New York rolled brass in small quantities, using for power a sweep actuated by oxen. In 1802 the manufacture of gilt buttons was begun in Connecticut by Abel Porter & Company. At that time these buttons were articles of fashionable use. To obtain brass for this purpose the mixture was cast in ingots at Waterbury and taken to Bradley ville, near Litchfield, Conn., where there was an iron-mill driven by water power; here it was broken down and rolled into strips, and returned in a rough state to the button factory in Waterbury, where it was rolled thinner by being passed between two rolls two inches in diameter, driven by horse power. The copper for brass-malcing A:as obtained from old boilers which had been used in distilleries and in sugar making. This copper was cast into ingots and mixed with spelter, which was obtained from abroad. In 1808 Abel Porter & Company pur chased the water power now owned by the Scovill Manufacturing Company at Waterbury, and soon afterward put in rolls suitable :for brealdng down and finishing brass. For a period of about 20 years they rolled brass, but it does not appear that their production was any more than enough to supply their own requirements. In 1830 the firm of Holmes, Hotchkiss, Brown & Elton established a mill and engaged in the manufacture of sheet brass at Waterbury. This was substantially the beginning of the sheet brass business in America, although the metal, in small quantities, may have been occasionally supplied to consumers before that time by the firm of J. M. L. & W. H. Scovill and by Benedict & Coe, of Waterbury.
There was at that time also a demand for brass kettles, which were manufactured in Eng land by a process known as the ((battery) process: that is, they were hammered into shape from metal blanks. The establishment of the mill at Torrington, at the head of the Naugatuck Valley, in 1834, was for the purpose of rolling brass for use in manufacturing these kettles and to supply the growing demand of the button factones. A small rolling-mill was built, with machinery imported from England, and Israel Holmes of Waterbury was engaged as manager of the mill. There was great diffi culty in securing workmen competent to carry on the business. Mr. Holmes was sent to Eng land and succeeded in procuring a few ex penenced men. He afterward made another trip .abroad for the same purpose, but the English manufacturers, fearful of losing their Amencari trade, endeavored to prevent him from hiring their men, and it was with great difficulty and some danger to himself that he succeeded in embarking a colony of workmen and their families, about 30 persons in all.
These were landed at Philadelphia, taken in a schooner from there to Hartford, Conn., from which place they proceeded on foot through the woods, a distance of 25 miles, to Torrington, From this small beginning, and with no end of difficulty and discouragement, the enterprise continued to grow. Local competition arose, and in 1840 Edwin Hodges of West Torrington started a mill for the purpose of =Icing brass kettles and also for drawing brass wire. This seems to have been the first brass wire-drawing establishment in this country. It was located in Cotton Hollow, in the town of Torrington. The enterprise was unsuccessful and the mill was soon closed, with the loss of all the capital invested. In 1841 the original enterprise at Torrington was made into a stock company, with a capital of $56,000. It was named The Wolcottville Brass Company, and the incor porators were John Hungerford, Anson G. Phelps and Israel Coe. The records of this company for the first few years of its existence contain some interesting details. The copper used was imported from Chile, or was obtained in the form of old copper, which was collected from different places throughout the country. The price of copper was then mg cents per pound. Spelter, which was imported, cost 8A cents per pound. The fuel used was mainly wood, but some Lehigh coal was procured, which cost, at Hartford, $8A3 per ton, to which was to be added the cost of transportation by teams from Hartford to Wolcottville. Fire brick for the furnaces cost $60 per 1,000. The manufactured product, in the form of rolled and sheet brass, was valued at 26 to 30 cents per pound. It was taken by teams either to Waterbury or 25 miles across a hilly country to Hartford, and from there shipped on sloops to New York. Upon the site of the works occupied by the Wolcottville Brass Company are to-day the factories of the Coe branch of The American Brass Company. The name of Anson G. Phelps is perpetuated by the city of Ansonia, the Ansonia branch of The American Brass Company and the Ansonia Clock Com pany, as well as by the firm of Phelps, Dodge & Company, Inc., which he founded; and the name of Israel Holmes appeared in the title of the corporation of Holmes, Booth & Haydens, of Waterbury.
The decade from 1840 to 1850 saw the birth of many of the prominent brass manufacturing corporations of the present day. In 1843 a joint-stodc company at Waterbury was organ ized under the title of the Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company, with a paid-up capital of $100,000. Aaron Benedict was president and treasurer and John S. Mitchell secretary. Mr. Aaron Benedict continued at the head of the company until his death in 1873.
The Waterbury Brass Company began busi ness in 1845 with a capital of $40,000. Among the incorporators were John P. Elton, Lyman W. Coe, Israel Holmes and Hobart V. Welton.
In 1849 the Naugatuck Railroad was com pleted and the product of the valley mills was thereafter shipped by rail to tidewater at Bridgeport.