P.O Box 317, 195 Water Street, Naugatuck, Connecticut 06770
203-729-9039

 

WHAT'S IN A NAME?
By Sandra Clark
Ward St.

Ward Street is located on the West side of town. It begins at the south end of Elm St. and runs up a slight incline to end at Spencer St. The Ward family, Richard and his sons, Lauren, Lewis, and William were descendants of two of the first families in Connecticut.

Andrew Ward was a settler in Wethersfield in 1636. Richard Ward was born in Southbury, September 21, 1787, the son of Abel and Rachel (Hotchkiss) Ward. He married Roxanna Hoadley, the daughter of Culpepper and Mollie (Lewis) Hoadley on December 15, 1811. Roxanna and Richard had three sons who were born in Naugatuck. Richard was granted a patent in November of 1829 for a "clock winding machine". Historical sources described the patent as being for a self-winding clock, or, as another source says, "practically self winding".

Ward was working in a barn near the Naugatuck River. The power for the shop came from a small dam he had built on the river. The shop produced wooden clocks until 1832, when it burned.

Among the Ward family treasures can be found a document signed by President Andrew Jackson, granting him a patent on "self winding clock". Richard's sons, Lauren and Lewis, both learned clock making from their father and assisted him in the business. Upon the death of their father, March 21, 1851, Lauren and Lewis continued the clock making business.

As was the custom at this time, clocks were often peddled by wagon through the countryside and sold from house to house. Lauren and Lewis often went through Connecticut and the eastern part of New York State peddling clocks in this manner.

Their brother, William, born in 1825, became apprenticed to the wagon making trade. He, too, did considerable traveling. Going from one firm to another, he developed into an expert in the field of wagon making. In 1866, William returned to Naugatuck and with his brother, Lauren, formed the L & W Ward Co. a new business for the manufacture of brass curtain and screw rings. The plant was located in the area of what is now Elm and Ward Streets. The shop was built close enough to the Naugatuck River so that they were able to tap the water power through a canal. The shop also had an auxiliary steam plant for use when needed.

The Wards were Yankees with great ingenuity. All the machines used for the fabrication of the raw brass stock into household items were designed and made by the brothers. The business was so successful, that several additions were built onto the original plant. The firm employed only 6 to 10 employees, but so successful was its output that the brothers were able to receive a substantial income from the profits. They remained in operation until the death of Lauren in 1897 at the age of 83.

William, however, had many pursuits outside the factory. Politics was high on his list. He served Naugatuck in the capacities of President of the Naugatuck Savings Bank, President of the Naugatuck Water Co. and an incorporater of the Grove Cemetery Association. He never actively sought a political office, but could be found working for one political campaign or another.

With Ward Street as a reminder and the two clocks, one made by Richard Ward, about 1830, and the other made by his sons, about 1844, which are in the possession of the museum, the Wards will always be a part of Naugatuck's history. Collectors are still able to find Ward clocks today, but they are extremely rare and very expensive.

Taken from the May/June 2004 issue of the NHS Newsletter

More information on this and other Naugatuck history topics can be found in the research area of our Museum. Please consider becoming a member of the Society and supporting this research!