Waterford — The Stanton Oil Mill essentially was out of business by 1880, according to Town Historian Robert Nye.

The 1829 mill — at what is now the northwest corner at the intersection of Oil Mill Road and Gurley Road — ground, cooked and processed flaxseed to make linseed oil, and by the 1840s the owners were producing paint. But in the 1870s, when new technology in paint production included "actual paint cans with pliable lids," the Stantons still were putting their paint in small wooden kegs, Nye said.

"The post-Civil War technology was beginning to be much larger volume and mechanized equipment," Nye said. "The Stantons, frankly, didn't keep up. Looking at tax records, you can see in the 1870s what the Stantons were being assessed for took a real dive."

On Tuesday at 7 p.m., Nye and Assistant Town Historian Vivian Brooks will present a proposal at Waterford Public Library for the Oil Mill District — what could become the town's sixth district listed on National Register of Historic Places.

The State Historic Preservation Office determined the period of significance for the district will be 1808 to 1916, based largely on the years of the oil extraction industry and paint production in the area. 

Nye said the proposal has been in the works for about four years. The project received a boost from a $10,000 SHPO grant and assistance from Storrs-based Public Archaeology Survey Team Inc. and Marguerite Carnell, an architectural historian at Archaeological and Historical Services Inc.

Carnell will submit the final nomination to SHPO by Nov. 30, Nye said. SHPO staff will review the nomination, and from there it heads to the state Historic Preservation Council, which makes a final determination whether to send it to the National Park Service in Washington, D.C.

The heart of the proposed district extends east from the East Lyme town line along Gurley Road and south to Boston Post Road, according to a project summary prepared by Nye and Brooks. The area is entirely residential, with a mix of historical homes, undeveloped wooded lots and a few modern houses.

The proposed district includes about 18 properties and historic sites, including several houses built in the 1840s; a short stretch of the original New London-Lyme Road (now Gurley Road); the stone-lined sluiceway, barn foundation, and millwheel pit, all between Oil Mill Road and Oil Mill Brook; former mill sties on both sides of Gurley Road, and the east bank of the Niantic River between Straits Bridge and Harvey's Point.

The largest property in the district is the 21.5-acre Moore farm at 21 Gurley Road.

The Abel Moore House, built about 1700 and once used as the town's almshouse, would have been the district's oldest property but it was demolished in 2012.

If approved by the National Park Service, property owners within the district would be eligible to purchase plaques signifying the listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Previously approved districts include the Jordan Village Historic District, listed in 1990; Quaker Hill Historic District, 2002; Graniteville Historic District, 2003; Hartford Colony, 2004, and the Oswegatchie Historic District, 2005.

b.kail@theday.com