What was once an industrial giant in Torrington is now a burned-down, old factory site after a massive fire on Summer Street over the weekend.

“I think I speak for all of us here that we were saddened,” said Gail Kruppa, the Torrington Historical Society’s associate director and curator.

The flames began just before 1 a.m. Sunday, destroying a vital part of the city’s past that now just exists in the historical society’s archives. The museum there features a permanent exhibit dedicated to the Hendey Machine Company.

“They were a maker of machine tools, including lathes, shapers and milling machines. They were highly regarded all over the world, sold their products in the United States and outside of the country, and they were known for their precision tools,” Kruppa explained.

Hendey began in 1870, founded by brothers Arthur and Henry Hendey, who started in a tiny wooden building, according to Kruppa. In 1873, the company moved to Summer Street, which became its permanent home. Over the years, the complex grew as the company did, with additional buildings added.

“They were certainly one of the top employers,” Kruppa told News 12. “They paid well. They employed generations of residents in Torrington, many of them immigrants or children of immigrants.”

Neighborhoods of workers sprung up around Hendey, which employed up to 2000 people at the height of its success, Kruppa said. The company peaked during World Wars I and II because Hendey, like many Torrington companies, had government contracts for the war effort.

The historical society’s exhibit includes pictures and a recreation of a working belt-driven machine shop from 1935 with actual Hendey machine tools. A group of former Hendey employees restored all the equipment there, according to Kruppa, who showed News 12 that the tools are still operational.

But the sound of machinery at Hendey came to an end in 1954 when the company closed. Since then, other businesses have sat on the 7-acre site, including Stone Container, which manufactured boxes. But Hendey was there the longest and had the biggest impact on the city, Kruppa said.

“I think sometimes we're not as attentive to preserving our history, and those buildings are one way to preserve that history, even if they're no longer being used for production. They have the power to tell a story, so I think preserving them is critical,” stated Kruppa.

That's no longer an option at the old factory site. But Hendey’s past is still alive in downtown Torrington at the historical society.

You can learn more about the Hendey exhibit and the historical society's work by clicking here or stopping by 192 Main Street in Torrington.