Steele and Johnson Manufacturing Company.

The Steele and Johnson Company was a part of Connecticut's brass industry, starting as the Waterbury Jewell Company in 1851, and soon becoming the Steele and Johnson Button Company. In 1875, as a manufacturer of brass buttons and various metal goods, the company changed its name to Steele and Johnson Manufacturing Company. The company ceased business operations in 1933; in 1941, the capital stock of Steele and Johnson was purchased by the Waterbury Button Company.

The Steele and Johnson Manufacturing Company, one of many companies that composed Connecticut's thriving brass industry in the 19th century, was established as the Waterbury Jewell Company in 1851 and soon changed its name to the Steele and Johnson Button Company . In 1865 the company established its New York store, and in 1875 this manufacturer of brass buttons and various metal goods changed its name to the Steele and Johnson Manufacturing Company . Steele and Johnson produced and sold items primarily to brass companies and other businesses in Connecticut and Massachusetts, with customers in New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and California . During World War I it produced goods for the army and the government.

Although two-thirds of the nation's brass was produced in and around Waterbury by 1926, the company ceased its business operations in 1933, when it employed between five hundred and six hundred employees. In 1941 the capital stock of Steele and Johnson was purchased by the Waterbury Button Company .