The Coe Brass Company was among the first industries established in Torrington. It began in 1834, when Israel Coe partnered with John Hungerford and Anson Phelps to start a brass mill that rolled sheet brass and made brass kettles. Israel Coe left the business in 1844 and moved to Detroit to work in lumber and banking, after which John Hungerford operated it for many years as the Wolcottville Brass Company. In 1863, Israel Coe's son, Lyman Coe, took control from Hungerford and restored the original name, Coe Brass Company. Lyman Coe expanded it into one of the largest brass mills in the country and the largest industry in Torrington. He operated the mill from 1863 until his death in 1893, and his success in manufacturing brass wire, brass tubing, and sheet brass provided the income to maintain the house and property that later became Coe Memorial Park. Six years after Lyman Coe's death, Coe Brass merged with other Naugatuck Valley brass companies to form the American Brass Company, which later merged with Anaconda Brass and Copper. Anaconda continued production in Torrington until closing in 1961. Today, the Torrington Commons Shopping Center occupies much of the old brass mill site, while the Coe Brass office building and machine shops still stand along Water Street in other uses.