Capewell Horse Nail Company

The Capewell Horse Nail Company is a historic brick industrial complex located in the Hartford, Connecticut neighborhood of Sheldon/Charter Oak. It was built in 1903 by industrialist George Capewell at the corner of Charter Oak Avenue and Popieluszko Court after the previous headquarters burned down.[2]

Capewell Horse Nail Company
Capewell Horse Nail Company
Location60-70 Popieluszko Street Hartford, Connecticut
Coordinates41°45′28″N 72°40′20″W
Area6.07 acres (2.46 ha)
Built1903
ArchitectBerlin Iron Works, Empire Bridge Company
NRHP reference No.99000927[1]
Added to NRHPMarch 1, 2000

Twenty years earlier, in 1881, Capewell invented a machine that efficiently manufactured horseshoe nails, and his success made Hartford the "horseshoe nail capital" of the world.[3]

The factory building includes a Romanesque Revival-style square tower with brick corbeling and a high pyramidal roof. The administration building is Hartford's finest example of Dutch architecture with highly articulated brick and brownstone details. The Jacobean front gable is detailed with elaborately patterned brickwork not found elsewhere in Hartford.[4]

The company was acquired by Hartford/Standard Machine Screw Company in 1970 and operated as a subsidiary. The company was then sold to private investors in the early 1980s. The horseshoe nail division was sold to Mustad in 1985 and the saw blade division was sold to Rule Industries in 1986. The plant was closed when the parachute hardware division was moved to Bloomfield in the late 1980s. Capewell continued to manufacture horsenails and other products at its Bloomfield facility until its closure in 2012.[5]

The Corporation for Independent Living, a non-profit housing group, acquired the property in 2014 and plans to convert it into apartments.[6] The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.[1]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. David F. Ransom (July 1998). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Capewell Horse Nail Company" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2014-11-18. Photos
  3. "Horseshoe Nail Capital of the World – Who Knew?". ConnecticutHistory.org. Connecticut Humanities. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  4. Gosselin, Kenneth (18 April 2013). "Capewell Horse Nail Factory In Hartford Gets Grant For Clean-Up". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  5. Jurga, Fran (22 February 2012). "Capewell Ends 131-Year Run Making Nails in USA as Delta Mustad Consolidates Horse Nail Factories". Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. The Hoof Blog. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  6. Gosselin, Kenneth (2 April 2014). "Developer Acquires Hartford's Capewell Factory For Apartment Project". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
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