Written By:

Deputy Fire Chief

Ken Hanks

In 1859, John A. Lindsey Partnered With Union Knife To Manufacture A Two-shot Pistol

In 1860 inventor John A. Lindsey partnered with Union Knife to manufacture a two-shot pistol he patented in 1859. It was a unique design that had two hammers and one barrel and used a ball and cap for ammunition. Mr. Linsey had several versions of the pistol, however, less than 100 of each were ever made. The pistol may have become a commercial success if it was not for Samuel Colt's superior design for a six-shot revolver. There were several variations of the pistol, including a small one that a businessman carrying cash could keep in his vest, sometimes referred to as "a gentleman's firearm."

Mr. Lindsey went on to invent a machine that would manufacture safety pins. Up then, the pins were formed by hand and were expensive, the machine produced safety pins quicker and much less expensive than by hand. The pin-forming machine first operated at the Homer Twitchell and Sons factory on North Main Street where the Fulling Mill River meets the Naugatuck River. The location of the factory is under Route 8.

Allerton Iron Works, made steam-powered fire engines during the 1860s

One of the 19th-century factories in Naugatuck, Allerton Iron Works, made steam-powered fire engines during the 1860s. Technology advances in firefighting in the 1800s saw the move from bucket brigades and hand pumps to steam-powered fire engines. A fire engine is a traditional name for a water pump used to fight fires. Steam-powered fire engines greatly improved the firefighting capability of fire departments. The downside is they were heavy, required a horse team to pull them, and they were expensive. The Naugatuck Fire Department never had a steam fire engine in its fleet.

The Allerton family has roots in early Naugatuck. The family farm, located near the Middlebury town line is gone, but has two streets named after it in the area: Allerton Road in Naugatuck and Allerton Farms Road in Middlebury.

Allerton Iron Works was approximately where the former Naugatuck Savings Bank, now ION Bank, is on Church Street near Rubber Avenue. There is little information on the company besides the steam fire engine. The following is from the Wooster Ohio Historical Society:

Allerton Iron Works Only Made 15 Fire Engines

As fire spread through the main building of the University of Wooster in the early hours of December 11, 1901, this 32-year veteran of the Wooster Fire Department was one of the units that responded. Built by the Allerton Iron Works of Naugatuck, Conn., at a cost of $6,000 and delivered to Relief Company No. 4 in September 1869, the horse-drawn steam pumper carried enough coal for about an hour of operation and could send 350 gallons of water per minute through two hose lines. It is believed that the Allerton company produced fewer than 15 fire engines; this one is number 12. Unfortunately, neither it nor the other apparatus that responded that night was a match for the raging inferno that consumed Old Main.

The Wooster Ohio Fire Department restored this steam engine and now uses it for parades and is displayed at the Wooster Historical Society Museum.

Manufacturing Continues To Be An Important Industry In Naugatuck

Manufacturing continues to be an important industry in Naugatuck. The large factories such as Uniroyal, Risdon, Peter Paul, and the Eastern Company are long gone. In their place, several smaller companies in the Naugatuck Industrial Park and other locations continue to make a wide variety of products used in many different industries. Pistols, pins, and fire engines are no longer made here but Naugatuck’s tradition of innovative manufacturing continues today.