Coe Brass Company

Coe Brass Company. . , The Coe Brass Company was one of the first industries to be established in Torrington. It dates to 1834, when Israel Coe partnered with John Hungerford and Anson Phelps to establish a brass mill for rolling sheet brass and making brass kettles. , Israel Coe left the business in 1844 and moved to Detroit to engage in lumber and banking. After that John Hungerford operated the business for many years as the Wolcottville Brass Company. Israel Coe's son, Lyman Coe, acquired control of the Brass Company from John Hungerford in 1863 and returned the company to its original name, the Coe Brass Company. Lyman Coe grew the business into one of the largest brass mills in this country and the biggest industry in Torrington. Lyman operated the brass mill from 1863 until his death in 1893. His success at manufacturing brass wire, brass tubing, and sheet brass provided the income to maintain the house and property that later became Coe Memorial Park. , Six years after Lyman Coe's death, Coe Brass merged with other Naugatuck Valley brass companies to create the American Brass Company, which later merged with Anaconda Brass and Copper. Anaconda continued production in Torrington until it closed in 1961. Today the Torrington Commons Shopping Center occupies much of the old brass mill site. The Coe Brass office building and machine shops are still standing along Water Street but they have been converted to other uses. Erected by The Coe Memorial Park Committee and The Torrington Historical Society , ( photo captions ) , , Birdseye view of the Coe Brass Company ca.1880 Collection of the Torrington Historical Society , , Employees of the Mechanical Department, Coe Brass Company, 1909 Collection of the Torrington Historical Society , , Postcard view, Coe Brass Company buildings as seen from Water Street, ca. 1910 Collection of the Torrington Historical Society , , Israel Coe (1794-1891) Lyman W. Coe (1820-1893) Collection of the Torrington Historical Society