When its last whaling boat, the Myra, departed in 1871, Sag Harbor’s heroic whaling period officially ended. The Bulova Factory was developed in 1850 as a cotton mill. A fire destroyed the cotton mill in 1879. Watchcase manufacturer Joseph Fahys constructed a new factory on the site of the former mill in 1881. The Fahys Watchcase Factory operated until 1931, and then sat vacant for six years.
In 1937, the Village leased part of the second floor to a subsidiary of the Bulova Watch Company. Local citizens formed a committee to raise money for renovations and new machinery for the watchcase industry. Once production increased to around 30,000 watchcases per week, many new jobs became available, and Bulova occupied the entire building. The Bulova plant was the biggest of Sag Harbor's factories. Generations of local men and women worked there. By World War II the Bulova factory had over 500 employees and was producing 30,000 watch cases per week, as well as telescope parts and aircraft instruments as part of the war effort.
Bulova
closed its operation there in 1981. For over 30 years the building sat
abandoned and uncared for, left to fall slowly into ruin. In 2006, however, the
property was purchased by New York developers Cape Advisors, Inc. with a bold
and controversial plan to convert the old factory into luxury apartments and
townhouses. The condominiums opened in 2016.
Sources:
Boody, Peter. “Sag Harbor Factory's Toxic Legacy Lingers.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Oct. 2001, https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/21/nyregion/sag-harbor-factory-s-toxic-legacy-lingers.html
“The Watchcase Factory in the Whaling Village.” Beyer Blinder Belle, https://www.beyerblinderbelle.com/stories/13_the_watchcase_factory_in_the_whaling_village
“Watchcase
- The Story of a Rebirth by Michael Heller.” Blurb,
https://www.blurb.com/b/6909516-watchcase-the-story-of-a-rebirth
