The Ensign-Bickford Company

Known today as Ensign-Bickford Industries, Inc., the company began in 1836 when Simsbury’s Richard Bacon partnered with an English firm to manufacture the safety fuse, a product invented by William Bickford for detonating blackpowder in mining operations. The new firm was named Bacon, Bickford, Eales & Company, and until 1851 the safety fuse was made in nearby East Weatogue. After a fire destroyed the factory later that year, Joseph Toy took control, moved operations to this site, and renamed the business Toy, Bickford & Company. Following Toy’s death, his son-in-law Ralph Ensign created a new partnership called Ensign, Bickford & Company. The company grew from making fuse and blasting products for agriculture and mining to developing a range of such products for use in World Wars I and II. It also played a major role in the community by building housing for employees, helping establish municipal water and electricity services, and providing the Hopmeadow area with fire protection until 1944. It remains an important presence in town, and today the Ensign-Bickford Industries, Inc. compound is shared by its subsidiary Ensign-Bickford Aerospace and Defense and former joint venture partner Dyno Nobel.

Simsbury Center, Connecticut · United States