Boardman Silversmiths Inc. To Grow, Move

The state of Connecticut will aid Boardman Silversmiths Inc.'s move from Meriden to Wallingford, ensuring the company and its 11 employees stay in Connecticut. The company also plans to create 10 more jobs within three years.

The company was looking for a larger facility to expand its line of silver and pewter products by as much as 33 percent and plans to add new and more efficient tools and dies to its inventory of equipment. Georgia officials contacted Burton Boardman about moving his business there, but after working with Connecticut officials, a Wallingford site was chosen as a prime location.

The state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) is assisting this project with a $147,512, low-interest loan through the Small Manufacturers Competitiveness Fund to help the company purchase machinery and equipment and upgrade their new facility.

T.D. and Sherman Boardman first established a pewter and silver business in Hartford along the Connecticut River in 1798. Eventually other family members set up shop in other cities. These businesses have been passed down through nine generations of Boardmans, with the name becoming is synonymous with quality and fine craftsmanship in silver and pewter manufacturing. Burton Boardman, who purchased his business from his father Joseph in 1985, plans to sell to his sons, daughter, niece or nephew.

Parker Brothers Shotguns, Meriden, Connecticut

Legends were born in Meriden, Connecticut. One such story is Parker Brothers Shotguns, known and avidly collected around the world.

Recently the "Czar Parker gun" sold for $287,500 at James Julia Auction in Maine.

Related advertisements, catalogues, and related memorabilia are being sought by a corporate business. For details, e-mail the editor.

Created by J. Wilcox, Manufacturer

Metropolitan Museum of Art

One room preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That's it.

Jedediah Wilcox's mansion was created by business. The grounds were lovingly landscaped and tended. Grand old copper beech trees were a focal point, framing the architectural beauty with graceful branches.

Wilcox lived in Meriden, Conn., and was head of J. Wilcox and Company, manufacturer of carpetbags and skirt hoops, later women's belts and clothing items. (The company grew after he bought out his partner.) Part of his original woolen mill building still stands. (Story, linked here.)

Wilcox also launched the Wilcox Britannia Company, which produced silverplated wares. (Meriden became the "Silver City of the World" as home to a clustering of artisans, silver companies, designers, and related trades.)

Connecticut architect Augustus Truesdell designed the house for Wilcox between 1868 and 1870. At the time it was built and furnished, it was valued at $200,000 and was described as "the most expensive and luxurious house in the city."

Business must always adapt to change, though, and Wilcox's did not. He declared bankruptcy in 1874, and sold his amazing house for a mere $20,000 . . . 5 years after it was built. It was demolished in 1968 and a utilitarian brick-faced complex of bland office buildings now stand on the Wilcox estate. The oldest beech tree gave up the ghost after much of the earth was scraped away for paved parking lots. Two of the youngest trees still provide shade from their home at 816 Broad Street. (See them online by using Google's "street view" icon to look around.)

About that one room of the mansion that still exists? The Renaissance Revival Parlor was a gift of Mrs. Josephine Fiala - and visitors may tour it and see the glory.

Note: Original photograph owned by Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About Mr. Hubbard's Park

Character is destiny.

The landscape of Connecticut would not be the same without the life of enterprising Walter Hubbard.

Born Sept. 23, 1823, in Middletown, Conn., Hubbard was raised on a farm. At 18, he "secured a position as clerk in a country store where, by his thrift, his energy and his strict attention to his employer's interests, he was enabled to accumulate enough capital to embark in business for himself."

And he never looked back. First he opened a small store in Meriden. Then, along with his brother-in-law, Bradley, Hubbard founded the Bradley and Hubbard Manufacturing Company, growing it from clock making to quality lighting and other goods. By 1888, the company employed more than 1,000 workers and had showrooms in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago.

Commuters and travelers on busy Interstate 691, which bisects the park (Hubbard would have objected to its construction) see his signature castle high on the rocky crag of the Hanging Hills of Meriden. Castle Craig, a rook-like stone tower, commands attention, though many have no idea how to access the mountain road, nor why the landmark exists.

Walter Hubbard is why. He is the man who gifted some 1,800 acres to create a the buffer of land, water, pathways and woods, long before the age of open space preservation. Today known as Hubbard Park, it is only one of his park legacies. Hubbard was intelligent enough to donate the with the stipulation that "everything connected with the park was to remain free of charge for the people of Meriden, and that no concessions for profit were ever allowed within the park area."

The point being that one human in business can change the face of a community, a state. If Hubbard was not a successful entrepreneur, the parklands would not be preserved.

At present, the park is Meriden's crown jewel, a Central Park-like oasis. The roads around Mirror Lake are festooned with seasonal light displays for the holidays and attracts thousands of visitors who can delight in the reflected beauty.

Today, Bradley and Hubbard lamps and other goods are highly collectible. Beautiful and well crafted, they, like Hubbard's work, stand the test of time.

More about the park roads, access, and hidden park features in an upcoming story.