The Gilbert & Bennett Schoolhouse

The Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Company provided $10,000 for the construction of the first modern schoolhouse in Wilton. Nick Foster examines the company’s role in education in the 19th and 20th centuries.

This lecture will be co-sponsored by Wilton Historical Society. The first modern school in Wilton was built with a $10,000 donation from the Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Company. This building was an indicator of a transitional time in Wilton’s history, with immigration and industrialization fueling Gilbert & Bennett’s rapid growth and the town’s transformation into the suburban community it is today. In this lecture, Wilton Historical Society’s director, Nick Foster, will discuss the rise of the Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Company and Wilton’s often uneven relationship with education in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

This event will occur at the Wilton Historical Society at 224 Danbury Rd, Wilton, CT. Please use the map link below if you need directions.

Co-Sponsor: Wilton Historical Society

Destination: Georgetown, Part Five

Join us for a five-part lecture series, Destination: Georgetown, where we explore the impact of the Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Company on the development of Georgetown and surrounding towns.

The Destination: Georgetown lecture series will explore the lived experience of the Gilbert & Bennett Wire Mill complex in Georgetown and its involvement in the creation of “place.” Closed in 1989, the mill remains a landmark tied to the development of the area – the settlement of Swedish immigrants, education and the construction of a school, and the local labor movement. This lecture series will present a new look at the mill and help understand Georgetown as a place of cooperation and diversity.