In 1810, the Sargent family entered the hardware business, beginning the trail that eventually led to the present SARGENT Manufacturing Company.

Joseph Bradford Sargent and his two brothers operated a wholesale hardware business in New York City, and subsequently obtained an interest in one of their suppliers, the Peck and Walter Manufacturing Company of New Britain, CT. This company was the predecessor to the present SARGENT Manufacturing Company.
The original plant started out with a series of five-story brick buildings, storage sheds, and, as the business grew, other buildings were added. Connecting these various structures were “catwalks” or bridges, often making it one of the largest hardware manufacturing plants in the United States. spanning busy city streets. By 1914, the SARGENT product catalog listed some 60,000 different items.