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Industry Farming was the primary use of most land in early Bloomfield. By the mid-1800s, much of present-day Bloomfield south of Bay Avenue had become either residential, industrial, or retail space. Farming continued in Brookdale until about World War II, after which most large tracts were redeveloped as residential areas. Mills were built as early as _____, taking advantages of the area's rivers and brooks. Other early industries, which generally pre-dated photographs, included copper and iron mining, logging, and quarrying. Dodd Saw Mill, vicinity of ____________, about 1900. Timber was among Bloomfield's earliest industries. Most saw mills had disappeared by the mid-late 1800s, but this one survived until about [Check article in Sally Black book]. Morris Saw Mill, built 1702, vicinity of Broad Street and Bay Avenue, pictured about 1900. [add photo from archives] [add pic BR54] Garrabrant " Jersey Lightning" Cider Mill, Broad Street and West Passaic Avenue, built about 1820 by Tunis Garrabrant, painted about 19__ by Herbert Fisher. [add pic BR61] Davey's Trunk Board Mill, Davey's Lane. Opened 18__, photo about 19__, abandoned 1937, demolished 19__. C. W. Powers Oakum factory, 1856. 1856 [add pics BR57] Peloubet Standard Organ Company, Orange Street. Drawing by Herbert Fisher about ____. In 1883, this factory employed about ____ people, the most of any company in Bloomfield at the time. This was Louis Peloubet's second factory; the first was on Myrtle Street, in a former ____ owned by the Pierson family. [add pic BR60] Charles K. Ferguson Brass Foundry, Lake Street. Opened by 1874, picture about ____, closed _____.  International Fuse Company, Grove Street near Bloomfield Avenue, 1918. Many women joined the industrial workforce during World War I (and many more in WW II). In this picture, workers assemble time fuses for weapons. The International Fuese building later housed the Charms Candy factory (see below). [find a picture] Charms Candy Company, Grove Street near Bloomfield Avenue. Opened ____; relocated to Freehold, NJ in 1973. Sprague Electric Works, founded 1892, photo about 1905. The largest building in this complex, a six-story building added in 1918, is still visible from the Garden State Parkway. The plant manufactured electric train controls. (later General Electric) Sprague Electric Company, about 1910. This building was built on the Noll dairy farm property, a remnant of which is visible in the foreground. Empire Cream Separator plant, ______ and Willow Streets, about 1911. This facility, near Orange Street where Home Depot stands today, opened about 1890. [add pic BR60] Empire Cream Separators brochure, 1907. Cream separators increased the efficiency of small dairy operations. [add pic BR61] Wiggins Company wall coverings plant, located ____________. Opened ____, photo about ____, closed _____. Caught fire 19__, and demolished shortly thereafter. Delco-Remy Corporation battery plant, LaFrance Avenue, about 1940. After World War II, the facility was occupied by the International Projector Company, then the world's largest and oldest maker of commercial 35mm film projectors. Scott & Bowne factory, 86 Orange Street. Built ____, photo about 1915. This Bloomfield-based company, started about [1861], was best known for its Scott's Emulsion cod-liver oil product. The company was sold in 1931 to Harold F. Ritchie of Toronto and F. M. Shoemaker of Elmira, N. Y. The plant operated until about 1953, at which time the building was puchased as office space for Schering Corporation. The statue in the foreground was of fisherman with a codfish over his shoulder; it was removed when the codliver oil business [closed/relocated]. The current whereabouts of the statue are unknown. [add pic BR62] Walter Kidde Company brochures. Kidde relocated to Belleville about 1945 to accomodate expansion plans. [pic BR62] Libman Infants Wear Company, [Glenwood Avenue], 1912. Steam Electric Company |
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