Hartford Carpet Company fire impacted Tariffville By Paula Ryan Simsbury Historical Society
ANYONE WHO has hiked or paddled on the Tariffville arm of the Farmington River knows of its raw power. The flow is especially strong at the village called The Falls, then Griswold’s Village before it became Tariffville. After the passage of the Tariff Act of 1824, which impacted raw wool and woolen goods, there was a unique opportunity that benefited weavers of carpets in America who could use lower quality wool in their carpets. The Tariff Manufacturing Company — founded by Nathan Allyn, William H. Knight and Henry Ellsworth — was developed to take advantage of that manufacturing opportunity. “Together, they constructed a mill that used waterpower to card and spin wool and handlooms to weave carpet,” writes Frank Haviland on the Tariffville Village Association website. “They brought weavers and their families from Scotland and built housing for them.” Over the years, the business prospered and the village of Tariffville,
named after both the Tariff Act and the HIGHLIGHTS OF SIMSBURY HISTORY Tariff Manufacturing Company, grew with housing for workers and stores and were sent to the rescue. … Ten mills, ten businesses to support them. tenements and boarding-houses, and two “In 1859, the Hartford Carpet stores were burned — the whole property Company had acquired the Tariff of the Hartford Carpet Company. The Manufacturing Company and within a few fire throws seven hundred persons out of years, its factories were in full operation, employment.” employing more than 600 people,” write With no fire engine and no telegraph Mary Jane Springman and Alan Lahue in office in the village, assistance from fire their book Simsbury: Images of America. crews as far away as Westfield, Mass., was On the morning of June 10, 1867, a fire too little and too late. broke out in Tariffville that changed the While Tariffville has evolved into course of history in Simsbury. As noted in a thriving part of Simsbury, the local the New York Times on June 11, 1867: carpet industry never recovered, and the “A very destructive fire broke out company moved operations to other plants about 6:30 this morning in the spinning in eastern Connecticut. mill of the Hartford Carpet Company at The remaining factory buildings are a Tariffville. testament to Tariffville’s historic past and “It originated in the picking room, its recognition as a National Historic site. and destroyed all the buildings of the To learn more about historic Company, excepting two or three, Tariffville, visit www.simsburyhistory. including the more power-loom brick mill, org for details on our June 2 lecture and two stories high and 220 by 80 feet; the Historic House Tour. + carding and spinning mill, dwellings and The Simsbury Historical Society promotes small buildings and one barn destroyed. the town’s rich history through programs “There was no fire engine in the village that enhance historical perspective and and steamers from [Springfield, Mass.] build community pride.
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