Iron working was an important trade in Connecticut, from the individual blacksmith working at his forge in the Eighteenth Century to the industrialized foundries of Nineteenth Century.
Iron working was an important trade in Connecticut, from the individual blacksmith working at his forge in the Eighteenth Century to the industrialized foundries of Nineteenth Century.
In 1843, John and Elisha Stevens, sons of a Bristol blacksmith, moved to Cromwell to establish a small foundry with a handful of workers. In the early years they produced cast iron hardware, hammers and a small number of simple iron toys.
During the Civil War, J&E Stevens, like most manufacturers, turned to producing products for the war. After the end of the war, the demand for consumer goods by a newly prosperous and large middle class, led Stevens, like other companies, to enlarge their line of toys.
In 1869, Elisha joined with George W. Brown to incorporate Stevens & Brown Co. for ten years. These men produced clockwork toys, highly valued today. Following the retirement of George Brown in 1880, Elisha again concentrated on J&E Stevens.
J&E Stevens is best known for the wide array of mechanical and still banks. It is said that the first bank, Halls Excelsior, was made as a special order from John Hall of Watertown, Mass. Working with a number of designers, they produced increasingly complex banks. While toy banks served the purpose of instilling the value of thrift and saving in Victorian children, the designs and color appealed also to the adults, who after all, purchased them for their children.
The company continued to make a wide variety of other toys â cap pistols and cannons, iron dollhouse furniture, Russell Frisbieâs steam engines and stoves. They made nearly 1,000 types of articles, including hardware, employing 80 to 100 men and women. They also produced wheels from several other companies such as Gong Bell.
The J&E Stevens Company outlived their competitors, continuing operations in Cromwell into the 1930s.