Watrous

A brief history of The Watrous Manufacturing Co.


In East Hampton, “Bell Town” Connecticut, David Watson Watrous was one of the founders in 1851 of the East Hampton Bell Company. He left in 1860 to found the company Clark and Watrous, and then in 1865 created D. W. Watrous & Co. which later became Watrous Manufacturing Co.. The company created sleigh bells, and bell toys. In it’s early days they also made casket trimmings and D. W. Watrous was the town undertaker. D. W was to answer the call of the bell until it called for him when he died in 1918. His son John Lazarus Watrous ran the company till his bell rang in 1923. The Watrous family owned company stock was sold to the Gong Bell Manufacturing Co. in 1923. The company was dissolved in 1927.

By the early 1900s Watrous Manufacturing Co. had developed a distinct style. Their toys often utilized nickel plated or coppered steel frames and nickel plated steel wheels. Flattened cast iron figures often move to strike a bell or chime. The mechanisms were frequently exposed. Parts were often lacquered over the nickel plating which gave the paint an iridescent quality. In addition to the bell toys, chime toys or gong toys, the company also produced an erector set called Modelit around 1916, and a mechanical tin and wood airplanes toy called Flying Areoplanes.

The Watrous Manufacturing Co. was closely associated with several of the many East Hampton bell companies. An 1880 illustrated map of East Hampton shows Barton and Watrous Bell Mfrs. in one building as well as D. W. Watrous, Mfrs of Bells and Undertakers Supplies, Undertaking in another. Barton is credited for starting the bell industry in East Hampton with his patented process for making sleigh bells. For a while Watrous Manufacturing Co. and N. N. Hill Brass Co. combined their catalogs into one while they were both branches of the short lived, 1903 -1907, toy manufacturers consortium, National Novelty Corporation. The Bevin Bros. Mfg. Co. and Grace Bevin were major stock holders of the Watrous Manufacturing Co. from their Incorporation in 1913 to 1923. The Watrous family was also associated with Gong Bell Manufacturing Co. which was across the street from the Watrous Manufacturing Co.. In 1912 Clifford M. Watrous became general manager at Gong Bell Manufacturing Co.. In 1921 he patented the popular Playphone 600. He would later become President and was there when in 1949 Ella F. Watrous was assembling rainbow chimes in the factory. Besides the business ties there were of course many ties by marriage to the other East Hampton families. Due in part to the many associations they had during their sixty seven year long history and their influence beyond that, it’s easy to see why Watrous Manufacturing Co. toys are often mis-attributed to other “Bell Town” manufacturers.

by
Robert K. Watrous
September 29, 2003