Preserving the Past
The Gardiner Hall Jr Company, original founder of The Mill Works facility, was to be the first spooled thread production facility in the United States. Despite hardship and loss from fire and natural disasters, Hall’s perseverance, hard work, and entrepreneurial spirit drove the company’s culture and success for nearly a century.
The Gardiner Hall Jr. Company produced fine cotton threads that grew to national and international acclaim. The Hall Company played a significant role in the industrialization and development of the region, and in 1919 the Town of Willington adopted the spool design as its corporate seal. The impact and benevolence of the Company and the Hall family is present to this day through the local school, churches, and grants offered by the Hall Foundation.
The Mill Works
The Mill Works, original home of the Gardiner Hall Jr. Company, was recognized as an historic landmark and listed on the Connecticut Register of Historic Places on April 15, 2014. Continuing efforts to preserve this historic site are ongoing to insure the legacy of innovation and creativity that once stimulated inspiration and growth to the region continue for generations to come.
main street
Photographic evidence suggests the Packing and Shipping Building, part of what is now The Mill Works and home of The Packing House, represents the oldest original standing production facility from the Hall Thread Company. Documentation confirms that in 1906 Hall began providing free movies to his employees as a form of entertainment. Though records are not definitive, we believe The Packing House served as a first theater for these early films.
The original Packing and Shipping Building and General Store of the Gardiner Hall Jr Company. Postcard: "Main Street, South Willington" circa 1907 (courtesy Jamie Furnas).
The Gardiner Hall, Jr. Museum at The Mill Works established by the Friends of The Mill Works in 2014. Focused on the impact and contributions the Hall Thread Company, the Hall family, and succeeding enterprises located at The Mill Works have had on the local region.