William Connors established a paint factory in 1878 at Hill and Ida streets, close to the Poestenkill in Troy. Eventually called the Troy Paint and Color Works, the firm manufactured American Seal brand paint in “any desired shade or color.”
In 1889, “Carpentry & Building” magazine noted that “We have received from William Connors, 171 Hill street, Troy, N.Y., a circular, sample cards and other advertising matter relating to the American Seal Ready Mixed Paints. One of these relates to family colors for inside and outside work; another to floor paints, and a third to wall paints. A larger circular relates to regular house paints for inside and outside work. The colors shown are brilliant and are prepared and put up in a very attractive form.”
On January 1, 1889, the factory moved up to 677-679 River Street, “on the Hydraulic Canal.” According to the Rensselaer County Historical Society, “The company changed ownership several times over more than a century and has operated under several different names. The Connors Company built a building at 669 River Street in Troy in 1898. In 1971 the company was acquired by Monsey Products, and it moved from its long-time home on River Street to facilities in Waterford in 1979.” Monsey appears to have later been acquired by the Henry Company, and is no longer in Waterford.
There was, perhaps, a vestige of the American Seal brand name left on a decorating business in the north end of Troy. But that was in 2012, when we first wrote this post. It doesn’t appear there any longer.
An image search for “American Seal Paint Troy” will turn up some illustrations, posters and calendars linking the company’s product with Troy’s nationally known symbol, Uncle Sam.
In 2016, the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway posted that the Connors paint building has been recommended by the New York State Board for Historic Preservation for inclusion on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.