Let us look at the selection of a site, known as a “place” or “seat” of a mill through the eyes of an early industrialist in Westville. A number of things had to be taken into consideration. First, the stream itself: second, the type of dam to construct: third, availability of building materials; fourth, type of waterwheel; and fifth, ease of access to a method of obtaining raw materials and transporting the manufactured goods to market.
Early settlers tried to locate their mills on streams that had a reliable flow of water year round. The two best types of streams were ones with a high volume of water with either a low velocity or high velocity. A stream with a low volume of water and low velocity was not effective as a mill site because not enough power was available to turn a waterwheel. The West River, during the seventeen and eighteen hundreds had a lot more water than it has today. (slides 11 and 12) It would have therefore fallen into the high volume of water class. Since the topography of the land shows a gradual drop toward the harbor the river would have been one of high velocity. According to a 1928 map of the river behind Geometric Tool, on Valley Street, for every 40 feet in length the river dropped about one foot. (slides 13 and 14) LESSON II
The next step was to improve the water power of the river by constructing a dam. The purpose of the dam was to control the force of the water by raising the level of the water and forming a pond above the dam. This dam not only stored surplus water but also stabilized the flow of the river. The simplest dam was little more than a crude construction of logs and rocks. This type of dam was cheap and easy to build but had a tendency to fall apart during the spring floods. (slide 15 and slide 16)
For the most part dams, in the early days of manufacturing, fell into three general groups; low, from 3-5 feet; medium, from 6-8 feet; and high, from 8-12 feet. The majority of the dams along the West River fell into the 3-5 feet class. (slide 17) The only remaining dam, that is intact, is the one behind the former Pond Lily Company. (slide 18) To protect the dam against the damages caused by high water and floods a spillway or sluice was built to permit excess water to flow downstream around the dam. (slide 19)
A third important factor in considering a site for a mill was the availability of materials for construction, not only for the dam but the mill house. Westville had an abundance of the raw materials needed. The area had numerous forests of oak, chestnut, hickory, maple, ash and pine. West Rock, being composed of traprock, was an excellent source of building material for dam and mill alike. (slide 20) The mill, usually constructed of wood and stone was built next to the dam or in some cases at the end of a ditch called a flume, canal or headrace. This headrace carried the water from the stream to the wheelhouse. Unfortunately, no remains exist of these early mills along the river. (slide 21) A tailrace was constructed to carry the water from the mill back to the river.
The fourth factor was the waterwheel itself. The early waterwheels were constructed almost entirely of wood. Because wood dried out fast, causing the wheel buckets to leak and lose power, the wheel was kept turning all the time. There were four basic types of waterwheels used in the mills; undershot, breastshot, overshot, and pitchback. (slide 22) As to which ones were used in the mills along the West River one can only speculate. It is known that the following industries used waterpower, according the to 1870 United States Census Report: Blake Brothers Foundry, 1 wheel, 12 horsepower; Beecher Fruit Basket and Beecher Match Company, 1 wheel, 40 horsepower; Parker Paper Company, 1 wheel, 75 horsepower; Harrison Portable Grist Mill Company, 1 wheel, 20 horsepower; Mallory Paper Mill, 1 wheel, 25 horsepower.
The last consideration was easy access to a method of obtaining raw materials and transporting the manufactured goods. Westville had two turnpikes connecting it to Derby, Rimmon Falls Turnpike and the Derby Turnpike. The main roads into Woodbridge were the Litchfield Turnpike and the Seymore Road, now called Amity Road. Goods were brought into New Haven by way of Whalley Avenue and Chapel Street. (slide 23) LESSON III