Meriden ( ) is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven and Hartford. The city is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.Census – Geography Profile: Meriden city, Connecticut . United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
History
18th century
Meriden was originally a part of the neighboring town of Wallingford. It was granted a separate meetinghouse in 1727, became a town in 1806 with over 1,000 residents. Meriden was incorporated as a city in 1867, with just under 9,000 residents. It was once proposed as the Connecticut state capital.Franco, Janis L. (2010). Images of America: Meriden, (pp. 7, 14, 16, 19–20, 32–33, 34, 44, 64, 74, 105, and back cover). Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, SC. Retrieved June 23, 2019. It was named for the village of Meriden, West Midlands, England, near Birmingham.
The oldest house in town, the Solomon Goffe House, was built by Solomon Goffe in 1711, and became a museum in 1986.
The grave of Winston Churchill's great-great-great maternal grandfather, Timothy Jerome, can be seen today at what is now called "Burying Ground 1720" (Google Maps: ) at the juncture of Dexter Avenue and Lydale Place. At the time the location was known as "Buckwheat Hill", and overlooked the salt-making estate for which Jerome had received a royal grant.Martin, Ralph G. Jennie: The Life of Lady Randolph Churchill, Vol. 1, (Prentice-Hall, August 1, 1990), p. 2 Timothy Jerome's son, Samuel, is the great-great-grandfather of Jennie Jerome, Winston Churchill's mother.
19th century to World War II
In the second half of the 1800s, Meriden became a manufacturing center of note, with several companies forming, or relocating to the city, involved in the production of mainly silver, lamps and metalware, glassware, guns, and musical instruments. A substantial number of design and technology patents were secured.(Undated). "Google Patents". (Search "Meriden" and various company names.) Retrieved September 1, 2018.
Silver and cutlery
For silver, the numerous companies included the Meriden Britannia Company (a predecessor of the International Silver Company with corporate HQ in Meriden),(Undated). "Meriden's Silver Lining". ConnecticutHistory.org website. Retrieved July 19, 2015. Meriden earned the nickname "Silver City", due to the large number of silver manufacturers, and the International Silver Co. continued production until the early 1980s. Along with the silver companies, other producers of cutlery included the Meriden Cutlery Co. and Miller Bros. Cutlery.(undated). Historical Meriden area design (1860–1965). artdesigncafe. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
In 1876, the Meriden Britannia Company made significant efforts at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, and won the First place medal for plated wares. According to the Sotheby's auction house, "The publicity of the award and the impression the firm made on the fair's 8 million visitors was continued by the catalogues and other intensive marketing; by the end of the 1870s Meriden Britannia Co. was considered the largest silverware company in the world."(Undated). "Philadelphia Exposition of 1876: A Monumental American silver-plated 'Chief and Squaw' centerpiece, Meriden Britannia Company, Meriden, CT, the figures attributed to Theodore Baur, 1876. Sotheby's website. Retrieved July 21, 2015. A key design attributed to launching the company and the town's international name was the Buffalo Hunt with a smaller edition in the White House collection, Washington, DC. For some time the original Buffalo Hunt sculpture went missing, and in a shocking report by Bailey Wright in 2018, it was learned that it was recently 'missing' actually in Meriden.(undated). The Buffalo Hunt, smaller edition (1882–86). Meriden Britannia Co. White House Historical Association, Washington, DC. Retrieved April 28, 2019.Wright, Bailey (January 25, 2018). In search of a piece of Silver City history. Record-Journal (Meriden, CT). Retrieved April 28, 2019.
Lamps and metalware
For lamps and metalware, the companies with national and international markets included the Edward Miller & Co / Miller Company (1844–stopped manufacturing lighting ),Schieps, Marguerite T. (1995), The Miller Company: The first 150 years. (Research: Allen L. Weathers, curator, Meriden Historical Society.) Studley Press, p. 8. the Charles Parker Company, Handel Company,(March 14, 2016). Handel lamps / Handel Company design catalogues & historical information. artdesigncafe. Retrieved April 17, 2020. and the Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Company (1852–1940), which also was widely known for producing metal-based products like decorative tables and andirons.
Glassware
For glassware, the companies included the C.F. Monroe Company (1892–1916).(Undated). "Bowl – C.F. Monroe Company". Toledo Museum of Art website. Retrieved July 30, 2015. and the Meriden Flint Glass Company (1876–1892),Tobin, Diane. (2012). The Meriden Flint Glass Company: An abundance of glass. The History Press: Charleston, SC.
Kitchen appliances and guns
Manning, Bowman & Co. (1849–1945) centered its production in Meriden, and into the early 20th century became a nationally known producer of small electrical appliances and chrome ware.(April 16, 2016). "Manning, Bowman & Co. design catalogues and historical information". artdesigncafe. Retrieved June 23, 2019. Meriden was also the site of the production of Parker Brothers (guns), widely-known and traded by firearms enthusiasts. From 1905 to 1918, the Meriden Firearms Co. manufactured small arms from 1905 to 1918. The stock was owned by Sears, Roebuck & Company.
Musical instruments including player pianos
Internationally known companies Wilcox and White and the Aeolian Company were involved in the production of musical instruments north of the downtown area at Tremont and Cambridge Streets.October 28, 2018. "Wilcox & White Co. designs in collections, at auction, in exhibitions and historical information". artdesigncafe. Retrieved June 23, 2019. The Aeolian Company grew quickly forming production sites in other places and developed a music hall in New York. (The largest holder today of instruments and music rolls by the two companies is the Pianola Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.)(undated). "Pianola Museum webpage" Retrieved June 23, 2019.
Graphic arts innovation
Meriden also was an important site for graphic arts innovation. In 1888, the Meriden Gravure Company (in Meriden 1888–1989) was founded by Charles Parker and James F. Allen, and continued a previous printing operation by Parker. The company developed an expertise in high quality image reproduction, which initially was driven by the needs of the silver industry.(Undated). "Meriden Gravure Company". University of Virginia website, SNAC section. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
With the wealth of entrepreneurs during this time, several mansions and houses of note were built, particularly on Broad Street.
Of political and historical note, on March 7, 1860, Abraham Lincoln spoke in Meriden seeking the Republican presidential nomination.Kurz, Jeffery. (November 21, 2014). "The day Lincoln came to Meriden". Meriden Record-Journal, Retrieved July 18, 2015.
For public places, Hubbard Park in the Hanging Hills was financed by Walter Hubbard (of the Bradley & Hubbard company). The design for the park was originally conceived by Hubbard in consultation with the Olmsted Brothers, sons of Frederick Law Olmsted, America's foremost landscape architect. In 1900, Castle Craig on a peak was dedicated in the park.(Undated). "Hubbard Park" City of Meriden website. Retrieved July 11, 2015. In 1903, the Curtis Memorial Library, across from Meriden's city hall, was opened.
Hollywood connection (1937–1950)
From 1937 until 1947, the International Silver Company sponsored the Silver Theater, a national radio program broadcast via CBS in Hollywood. The radio program featured many Hollywood actors and actresses of the time like Jimmy Stewart and Rosalind Russell. Over 200 programs were produced.(Undated.) "Silver Theater" description. onesmedia.com. Retrieved August 23, 2015.(Undated). "The Silver Theater" (46 programs). archive.org. Retrieved August 23, 2015. In , several Hollywood stars, including Judy Garland, Ginger Rogers and Barbara Stanwyck, endorsed the company's 1847 Rogers Bros. silverware in print advertisements in LIFE magazine.(Undated, c. 1941.) "1847 Rogers Bros Silverware: 'Your Chance of a Lifetime' 1941 International Silver Company" dealer promotional video. Retrieved August 23, 2015.(April 3, 2016). "International Silver Company design catalogues and historical information" (Advertisements 1937–45). artdesigncafe.com. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
After World War II, in 1949–1950, The Silver Theatre was brought to television and broadcast on CBS, also with the International Silver Company as the sponsor. Guest stars included Eva Gabor, Kim Hunter, and Burgess Meredith.International Silver Company. (1950). Annual report, 1949 (pdf reprint). (Page 5 mentions the TV show.) Design Meriden at artdesigncafe.com. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
Legacy of Meriden's grand manufacturing era
A few thousand designs from this manufacturing era from Meriden are in museums and historical societies across the United States and into Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Design objects from this era from Meriden have also been included in over 200 national and international exhibitions and expositions since the 1850s. The 1930s tea urn by Eliel Saarinen for the Wilcox Silver Plate Co. / International Silver Company, Meriden, is the one design exhibited most and most published in design books as an international Modern design icon.(July 5, 2017). Historical Meriden-area design exhibitions and expositions list. Design Meriden at artdesigncafe.com. Retrieved April 28, 2019.(undated). Webpage for Eliel Saarinen's tea urn. British Museum, London. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
Some comparatively recent examples of Meriden designs in exhibitions include In pursuit of Beauty: Americans and the Aesthetic Movement at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (1986–1987),Metropolitan Museum of Art. (1986). In Pursuit of Beauty: Americans and the Aesthetic Movement. (Includes extensive bibliography concerning the Meriden Brittania Company). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York & Rizzoli. Retrieved July 21, 2015. and more recently, Modernism in American Silver: 20th century design (2005–2006) in Dallas, Miami Beach, and Washington, DC, which highlighted downtown Meriden and the area's role as an important center of Modernist silver production.(Undated). "Modernism in American Silver: 20th century design" exhibition (several International Silver designs are featured) (September 16, 2005 – January 22, 2006) (Organized by the Dallas Museum of Art, exhibited there as well as the Smithsonian Institution and Wolfsonian-FIU in Miami Beach). Smithsonian American Art Museum website. Retrieved July 19, 2015. In 19th century Modern (2011–2012) in Brooklyn, designs by the International Silver Company and the Napier Company, another Meriden manufacturer, were exhibited.(Undated). "19th-Century Modern" exhibition announcement page (including designs by the International Silver Company and Napier Company). Brooklyn Museum of Art website. Retrieved July 17, 2015. In November 2016 – November 2017, the city's iconic Napier penguin cocktail shaker was in an exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art; the Napier penguin was the lead image of the show.(Undated). "Shaken, Stirred, Styled: The Art of the Cocktail" (exhibition announcement). Dallas Museum of Art website. Retrieved August 6, 2016.