A Brief History of the Ensign House

Ensign-Bickford Company

The history of the Ensign House is inextricably linked with that of the Ensign-Bickford Company. In 1831, William Bickford invented the safety fuse in Cornwall, England. The safety fuse revolutionized mining, leading to dramatic improvements in safety. Mr. Bickford entered into a partnership with Connecticut native Richard Bacon to manufacture safety fuses on his East Weatogue farm. The bookkeeper and lay Methodist minister Joseph Toy was appointed to manage the fledgling American operation, called Bacon, Bickford, Eales & Co. In 1851, after the original factory burned down for a second time, Toy relocated it to its current location west of the Farmington River, dissolved his partnership with Richard Bacon and formed Toy, Bickford & Co. Toy moved from East Weatogue into a house on the hill just north of the manufactory known as Chestnut Hill.

When Joseph Toy’s son, Joseph Jr., died from disease contracted in the Civil War, his son-in-law Ralph Hart Ensign became the logical successor of the family business. He was named a partner in 1870 and upon Joseph Toy’s death in 1887, he took over the business, changing its name to Ensign Bickford & Company. The eldest son of Susan Toy Ensign and Ralph Hart Ensign, Joseph Ralph (“J.R.”) Ensign, joined the company around 1890. He married Mary J. Phelps and they had one daughter Mary, whom they called Polly.

The influence of the Ensign Bickford Company and its predecessors on Simsbury is immeasurable. The company provided fire protection for the town and provided capital and management to the new Simsbury Electric Company and the Village Water Company. J.R. Ensign was a founding director of the Simsbury Bank and Trust Company and president of the Simsbury Cemetery Association for 31 years.

The Ensign House

In the 1890s, young J.R. Ensign, fresh out of college, joined Ensign Bickford Company. In 1906, he had the stone Ensign House constructed, using red sandstone primarily from the local Ketchin Quarry. His house replaced his grandfather’s wooden house that previously occupied the site. The front half of the wooden house was removed to the rear of the property and the other half became factory worker’s housing on Woodland street. The Ensign House became the face of Ensign Bickford and served as Joseph’s office, a place of meetings and entertainment, lodging for company guests and as part-time residence for Joseph, Mary and Polly. The family spent summers at their beach home in Rhode Island and winters at their home in Florida. This picture shows the Ensign House in 1910s, with Polly in her carriage.

The Annex

In 1955, Polly Ensign Lovejoy sold the Ensign House to the First Church of Christ across the street for $10,000. The church used the house as a Parish House and in the early 1960s built an addition (“the annex”) immediately to the south of the house. For the church, the annex provided a chapel, fellowship hall and classrooms.

The entire property was subsequently sold in 1985 and served as a bank and offices, ending with Webster Bank occupying the space until 2013.