Picture East Windsor - Then And Now

EAST WINDSOR, CT — This edition of this periodic informal history series, highlighting buildings from East Windsor's past and what those locations look like today, finds us back inside the pages of a great picture book called Images of America: East Windsor. Released in 2017, the book was compiled by Ceil Donahue and Jessica Bottomley for the East Windsor Historical Society.

On page 15 is an undated postcard depicting the Warehouse Point Silk Co. at 132 Main Street. In the 19th century, silk manufacturing was the second-largest industry in Warehouse Point, trailing only gin distilleries. This building, a former wool mill constructed in 1804, was purchased in 1870 and became the Leonard Silk Company, which manufactured sewing thread.

After a fire in 1874, Leonard built a new factory made of brick, and the company changed its name to the Warehouse Point Silk Co. in 1893. It operated until 1944, and at one point employed 200 workers. The mill presently houses several light industrial and office tenants.

Here is a more contemporary look at the property, courtesy of Google Maps.

Do you have a photo of an old East Windsor business which no longer exists, to which you own the copyright and which we could feature in this column? Email tim.jensen@patch.com.

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