Bristol Business and Industry

By: Lynda J. Russell

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Synopsis: Bristol was incorporated in 1785 and quickly became recognized as a clock-manufacturing center and home of the E. Ingraham Company's "dollar watch." The town grew with the many immigrant workers who arrived to work for local knitting mills, spring companies, and brass manufacturers. By the 1890s, the strong growth of the town brought an influx of people with different skills who established the Bristol Press, banks, local neighborhood shops and markets, and service industries. In 1920, Bristol Nurseries created new varieties of chrysanthemums that eventually made Bristol known as the "Mum City." Redevelopment in the 1960s brought the new Bristol Plaza and changes on Farmington Avenue. In 1979, ESPN started its first broadcast in its new home on Middle Street. With the completion of the new Route 72, Bristol will today continue to offer new opportunities for business and industry to grow.