SGC-CT047-047 · Research edition September 12, 2026
A selected, source-based research collection for New Haven and Fairfield counties. Includes credited photographs where reusable images were located, historical interpretation and links to supporting records. It is a growing inventory, not an exhaustive survey. Photographs retain their individual dates and reuse terms; images do not establish present access conditions.
The story in pictures
Ball and Socket Manufacturing Co, West Cheshire CT
2024-04-24 11:16:40
Ball & Socket Manufacturing Co., West Cheshire Connecticut
The West Main Street factory began with Cheshire Manufacturing Company in 1850. Preservation Connecticut distinguishes that business from Ball & Socket Manufacturing Company, which it dates from 1901 to 1994. The complex’s changing corporate names are part of its history. [CT047-S01][CT047-S02]
The arts reuse project offers a way to study what happens after a manufacturing business closes. The National Endowment for the Humanities preserves a successful Ball & Socket Arts application describing plans to develop the site’s public history. A plan is evidence of an intended project, not proof that every proposed element is complete. [CT047-S01][CT047-S02]
The factory's 1850 beginning belongs to Cheshire Manufacturing Company. Ball & Socket Manufacturing Company is a later corporate chapter, dated 1901–1994 in the preservation inventory. Keeping both names visible explains why a building can be older than the business most closely associated with it. It also gives researchers more than one name to search in directories, advertisements and property records. [CT047-S01][CT047-S02]
The arts project changes the questions asked of the same site. Manufacturing records help explain products and work; an arts organization's history proposal shows how later stewards planned to interpret that work for the public. A successful application establishes an intended program, while dated photographs and completion reports establish what was actually done. The resulting history is one of continuity of place and change of purpose. [CT047-S01][CT047-S02]
Key dates
1850 — Cheshire Manufacturing Company established CT047-S01
1901 — Ball & Socket company period began CT047-S01
Site status: Former button factory; arts reuse project
A closer look at the surviving record
Ball and Socket Manufacturing Co, West Cheshire CT
Ball & Socket Manufacturing Co., West Cheshire Connecticut
Includes source text where acquired. Source websites require an internet connection. OCR may contain errors; verify names and dates against the scan.
5 catalog entries
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CT047-S01 · Sources & research leads · Source reviewed September 2026
Preservation Connecticut: Ball and Socket
Supporting source for the collection’s history, chronology and research notes. A small manufactured object connects Cheshire to industrial production, work and modern reuse.
External source; the full publication remains with its publisher. The archive provides an original educational summary and a link. See the collection history for the claims supported by this record.
CT047-S02 · Sources & research leads · Source reviewed September 2026
NEH: Ball & Socket Arts project application
Supporting source for the collection’s history, chronology and research notes. A small manufactured object connects Cheshire to industrial production, work and modern reuse.
External source; the full publication remains with its publisher. The archive provides an original educational summary and a link. See the collection history for the claims supported by this record.
Ball and Socket Manufacturing Co, West Cheshire CT
Ball & Socket Manufacturing Co., West Cheshire Connecticut
Reuse permitted under CC BY 4.0; credit the creator, link the license, and identify changes. Image supplied at web resolution; no editorial changes to the source image.
Credit: John Phelan / CC BY 4.0. Cite SGC SGC-CT047-047, CT047-P01, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-12.
ED-IG-BS-01 · Photographs · undated modern photograph
Ball and Socket Manufacturing Company courtyard
The buildings at 493 West Main Street show the scale and layered construction of Cheshire's former Ball and Socket works.
Available at the linked repository; image or full record is not included in this download. Do not date photograph from image filename; do not repeat 1981 survey's 'still operates' as current fact. Reuse: link-only; no open license found; Record lists photographer/date as not available; no open license.
Credit: Not identified / Preservation Connecticut, Making Places. Cite SGC SGC-CT047-047, ED-IG-BS-01, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-12.
ED-IG-BS-02 · Photographs · undated postcard
Ball and Socket Factory, Cheshire, Conn.
A postcard presents the Ball and Socket factory as a recognizable Cheshire landmark.
Available at the linked repository; image or full record is not included in this download. Secondary image host; retain as link-only pending original postcard identification. Reuse: link-only; publisher/date/rights not established; No verified publication date or open license.
