Page 9 - Bristol Magazine Spring 2025

thousand copies, others began to claim
credit and rights to this photograph. He Located at #17 East Main Street, the For-
established an art gallery on his prop- estville Library began circa 1904. Known
erty, which was transformed into his as the Free Reading Room and Branch
hairspring factory. As a member and of the Bristol Public Library, the Sessions
later Chairperson of the Connecticut Clock Company paid all costs including
Game Commission, he created a game utilities, salaries, and other additional
preserve south of his factory with two expenses. During the Great Depression,
spring-fed ponds stocked with trout, the city was asked to pay the director’s
Newton S. Manross GAR post while also featuring a variety of birds. salary. In 1948 the facility was closed,
when the Sessions Clock Company de-
This area, later known as
used by Captain Manross and the Manross Park, and was sired to move this building and/or
Manross family. used for recreational land in a different direction.
purposes, featuring
The Manross Hair Spring Company, also band concerts, Demonstrating their usual
known as the F.N. Manross Company, including those generosity, the Sessions
was established circa 1877, by Frederick presented by family donated land on
Newton Manross, as an outgrowth of the New De- the southeast corner
the clock industry. The rapid develop- parture Band. of Central and Circle
ment of timing devices required delicate This is now a Streets for the con-
hairsprings to assure the synchroniza- parking lot for struction of a new fa-
tion of clock movements and accurate the Manross cility.
timing. With the advent of electricity Library.
and the outbreak of WWI, these springs Local architect, Ray-
became essential for other devices such In 1898, after mond Percival, was
as speedometers, radar, and aerial cam- purchasing a engaged to design
eras. Located at the present-day site of Winston auto- plans for the new li-
the Frederick N. Manross Memorial Li- mobile, Freder- brary. Meanwhile, City
brary, this company became the world’s ick became one Librarian, Celia Critchley
largest manufacturer of these springs, of the first drivers Frederick Manross convinced Arthur Manross
often producing two million a year. in the community. to donate his parents’ va-
Extending his inter- cant home at the corner of
est in cars, in 1903 he Central and Garden Streets to the
established a company that city for library purposes. He stipulat-
manufactured light weight, high-speed ed that it be named, the Frederick N.
four-cylinder gasoline buggies. He sold Manross Memorial Library, in honor of
the business to the Corbin Motor Com- his father. Plans for the Circle Street site
pany of New Britain in which Arthur, his were dropped. The Sessions family then
son, was employed. re-donated this land, to be utilized as
the location of a Forestville Boys Club.
In 1906, he manufactured another car
Manross Hair Spring Company called “The Bristol”. As his interests
developed, he established a sales and
service agency at the corner of Central
Frederick Manross died in 1923. His son, Street and Church Avenue. Selling over
Arthur Newton Manross, took over the 150 cars yearly, this concern became
business, renaming it the F.N. Manross known as one of the best facilities in
and Son Company. In 1937, he negotiat- New England. The C.& S. Motor Com-
ed a deal with Fuller F. Barnes to become pany once occupied this site. A conve-
a Division of the Associated Spring Com- nience store is presently located here.
pany. After fifty years in Forestville, the
Manross Company moved to the former Sylvia, his wife, shared his interest in au- Frederick N. Manross Memorial
Library Circa 1952
Dunbar Factory in Bristol. It would later tomobiles and became the first licensed
merge on Main Street with the Wallace female driver in the state. The Sarah E. Reynolds School Annex was
Barnes Company and the Dunbar Broth- used as a temporary library from 1948-
ers and Son Company. 1952, while the Manross house was ren-
ovated for library purposes.
In 1876, Frederick Manross married Syl-
via Smith. He served on the last Board The City of Bristol, especially the Forest-
of Selectman in Bristol, as well as, in the ville area, benefitted significantly and
Connecticut General Assembly. He was a was extremely fortunate to have the
man of many interests. Photography be- Manross family residing within the com-
came a passion; he once photographed munity.
the Old Leatherman. After selling a

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