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In 1818 it occurred to tanner and currier Benjamin Gilbert of Georgetown that the unused long hair of cattle and horses could be woven into sieves for sifting meal and flour. He fashioned a loom, his wife wove the hair, and his daughter helped make the sieves—which proved very popular.

So popular that eventually Gilbert's son-in-law Sturges Bennett joined him as a partner, and the company became Gilbert & Bennett. In 1830 the partners purchased a factory in Georgetown.

Gilbert & Bennett (G&B) sieves were sold all over New England and as far west as the "Western Reserve of Ohio" by salesmen in Conestoga wagons. The company bought more property along the Norwalk River just south of the present site to house the growing business.

In 1834, William Gilbert, Benjamin's son, tried substituting fine iron wire for horsehair and wove the first wire sieve on a borrowed carpet loom. Wire sieves were even more durable, and sales increased.

When the Civil War closed off the company's southern markets, G&B found itself with an excess of woven iron wire cloth. So they gave it a protective coat of gray paint and introduced it as the first Insect Wire Screening. It was a turning point.

In 1863 G&B built a wire mill to "draw" iron wire. The Great Pond at the source of the Norwalk River provided turbine water power. The company introduced Galvanized Poultry Netting and quickly cornered the market.

Fires in 1874 and 1889 destroyed many of the factory buildings, but the Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Company—as it was now known—rebuilt and expanded into more new products: cheese and meat safes, ash sifters, coal screens, ox muzzles.

G&B supplied three miles of wire fencing and eight acres of netting for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The company also exhibited products and published a booklet called "Wire Wonders" containing this quote:

1893 finds us with over 300 employees, 175 being operatives at the Georgetown mill... A rule of the company, which has been in effect for some time, placing a premium on temperance has produced a healthy influence upon the employees, also throughout the village, and has resulted in a higher standard of character than is ordinarily seen in such communities.

Having introduced its "Pearl" brand of window screening in 1890, G&B continued to introduce wire products to the market. And the founding family continued to give actively and generously to the employees and the Georgetown community.

In 1908 the company built the Georgetown Post Office, donated the Gilbert Memorial Church and gave the Gilbert Farm to the University of Connecticut. The new Gilbert & Bennett School was erected in 1916.

In 1919, G&B installed one of the first group life insurance plans for all those employed for three months or longer. The company offered favorable loans to employees seeking to purchase houses.

In 1941, a plastic-coated wire cloth was developed for reinforcing automotive brake linings. During the war years, the company manufactured camouflage netting, mat and temporary road track for beach landings, and assault wire.

In 1944, G&B was engaged to weave a special mesh for the Manhattan Project.

In the late 1950s, looms were installed that manufactured aluminum screen cloth at speeds five times faster. Increased production led to more shipping and warehouse facilities. The company launched more products and grew steadily through the mid-1970s.

In 1985, new owners attempted to redevelop the site and relocate the factory to New Milford, Connecticut—but failed.

In 1989, the property was sold to the Gilbert & Bennett Limited Partnership and used as a warehouse. Manufacturing was moved to Georgia, and all production activity ceased at the Georgetown facility.

The wire mill sat abandoned for 13 years until 2002—when the community and a developer collaborated on a plan to revitalize the site in a way that would honor the shared history of the Gilbert & Bennett Company and Georgetown.