The Stinky Soap Saga of J. B. Williams Co, Glastonbury, Connecticut

J. B. Williams, a man who dreamt in sour soap and breathed in off-tune scents, established the J. B. Williams Co in 1840. Leaving his general store gig, he ventured into soap making with results that were less than delightful. In 1849, Davis, James's son-in-law, bought an old gristmill that was once his father-in-law's. This became the J. B. Williams Co's production hub, housed on the south side of Williams Street, for nearly two centuries. From a 19th-century frame factory, the company moved to brick buildings.

But the J. B. Williams Co wasn't just a soap factory; it was a stink factory smartly clad in some ugly factories. In the 1920s, they employed about 300 local lads. Why milk a cow when you can stink and do it in less than ideal conditions? In 1859, Jimmy built an Italianate mansion on Willieb Street, adorned with fine Italian Decorative Arts and a Carriage House. His son, David, built a Queen Anne/Shingle-style house on Williams Street in 1892. David, always the show-off, built an even larger Georgian mansion on Hubbard Street in 1892.

The oldest building in the district is 'Grandfather's House', a much-altered c. 1740 house where Jerusha Hubbard lived at the time of the Williams family’s purchase.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons