THE STORY
For the first time in over forty years, one of the premier, historic estates in the Capital District is offered for sale. “Hilltop,” the original George B. Cluett, 2nd mansion in Brunswick, NY is being offered at $975,000.
This stately mansion, constructed by George B. Cluett, 2nd in the early 1930s, boasts a spacious 6,500 square feet of living space and features eight bedrooms, six and a half baths, and four fireplaces on 7.8 acres, together with an in-ground pool and large outbuilding.
History
Cluett, Peabody & Company, Inc. once headquartered in Troy, New York, was a longtime manufacturer of shirts, detachable shirt cuffs and collars, and related apparel. It is best known for its Arrow brand collars and shirts and the related Arrow Collar Man advertisements (1905–1931).
In 1851, Maullin & Blanchard, manufacturers of collars, began operations at 282 River Street in Troy, NY. This company was succeeded in 1856 by Maullin & Bigelow, and in 1861 by Maullin, Bigelow, & Co., when Mr. George B. Cluett, a clerk in the company since 1854, became a partner. Upon the dissolution of the partnership in 1862, Joseph Maullin and George B. Cluett formed the firm Maullin & Cluett. On the death of Mr. Maullin in 1863, the firm Geo. B. Cluett, Bros., & Co. was formed.
In 1891, Geo. B. Cluett, Bros., & Co merged with Coon & Co., also of Troy, NY, to form Cluett, Coon & Co., bringing Frederick F. Peabody into the firm. The Cluett, Coon & Co soon became the Cluett, Peabody & Co. in 1899.
Prior to 1919, the principal business for Cluett, Peabody & Co. was manufacturing men's shirt collars. However, beginning in the 1920s the demand for collar-attached shirts grew considerably, while the detached collar business experienced a decline. In 1929 Cluett, Peabody & Co. established a national menswear business under the Arrow brand name. The "Arrow" name gradually grew into a product line that included shirts, collars, handkerchiefs, cravats, pajamas, and underwear for men and boys.The Arrow name is still licensed to brand men's shirts and ties.
The Cluetts in Troy:
Amid the 19th century rowhouses in the Second Street Historic District in downtown Troy sits a white marble house, completed in 1827, just as Troy was beginning its shift from a commercial to an industrial economy base. The Hart-Cluett House, as it is known today, was constructed for a businessman-banker’s family, the Harts, and sold in 1892 to George Cluett, uncle of George B. Cluett, 2d, the creator of the House at Hilltop. Today, the Hart-Cluett House is home to the Rensselaer County Historical Society.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluett_Peabody_%26_Company
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Arrow_Collar_Man
The Arrow Collar Man was the name given to the various male models who appeared in advertisements for shirts and detachable shirt collars manufactured by Cluett Peabody & Company of Troy, New York. The original campaign ran from 1905-31 though the company continued to refer to men in its ads and its consumers as "Arrow men" much later.