History of Papermaking in New York
Encyclopedia
This article recounts key aspects in the history of papermaking in New York state.
The first invention to revolutionize paper making was the fourdrinier machine
invented back in 1799, in France, by Nicholas Louis Robert and perfected by Henry and Sealey Fourdrinier. The second invention was the Keller-Voelter grinders for turning wood
into wood pulp
. Albrecht Pagenstecher, a German immigrant living in Stockbridge, MA, in 1866, together with his brother Rudolf, bought two Keller-Voelter grinders. On March 5, 1867 in Curtisville near Stockbridge, Massachusetts he was the first in this country to manufacture groundwood pulp and the first newsprint three days later. Pagenstecher made his pulp out of aspen or "popple", but soon exhausted his supply of this tree and the New York World reluctantly cancelled its contract for the newsprint. In despair, Pagenstecher returned to Germany (Saxony) and asked Voelter what he could do.
"We too have run out of popple," was the reply, "but we are using spruce
. Have you any spruce in America?" To this he could only reply, "I do not know, but I'll find out." {This is what Bernhard Fernow must have been thinking when he clearcut hardwoods, replanting with Norway spruce at Axton}
Cornell Professor of Forest Management, and a leader and consultant to the pulp and paper industry, Arthur Bernhard Recknagel (1906 graduate of Yale forestry school; at Cornell from 1913–1943; forester and executive secretary of Empire State Forest Products Association * from 1917–1948; in 1920s and 30s he led his Cornell forestry students on field trips to the southern United States), used to tell how his uncle, Albrecht Pagenstecher, returned home and fortunately, asked his friend, Senator Warren Miller
, who suggested that they go to Saratoga Springs and make inquiries there for spruce
. From Saratoga they drove to Luzerne
, at the confluence of the Hudson
and Sacandaga
Rivers, and learned that spruce was abundantly available in these watersheds. The result of this trip was the Hudson River Pulp & Paper Company which started making groundwood and newsprint in 1869 at Palmer (Corinth
), New York, near Luzerne. The Hudson River mill was the first in the chain of International Paper Company founded in 1898 by Uncle Albrecht
By this time, 1869, Illustrious Remington and his three sons, Hiram, Alfred D. and Charles R., were making a ton of newsprint daily in Watertown, New York, using four rag machines and an 84" fourdrinier machine. By 1870, the Remingtons, seeing a future for wood pulp, built three mills on Sewall's Island in Watertown. These mills used the Voelter process allowing a low-cost, high-quality Remington newsprint to be made of 75% rags and 25% wood pulp instead of all rag content paper costing five times more.
A third invention caught the imagination of the Remingtons. In 1867, Benjamin Tilghman, an American chemist, discovered that sulphurous acid (H2SO3) dissolved the lignin
in wood, leaving a residue of cellulose
fibers. Nought came of this discovery. However, Alfred D. Remington learned that a Swede, Carl Daniel Ekman
, was teaching papermakers in Sweden to make paper entirely out of wood pulp by using a sulphite process (SO3). Remington went to Sweden to see "This Miracle" for himself. He was so impressed that he imported Swedish chemical fiber for several years and later developed the "sulphite process" in his own plant on Sewall's Island.
The Remingtons were selling newsprint to the New York Times. They received an order for ten tons stipulating that the newsprint contain no wood pulp! A. D. Remington, proud of his new product, sent it to the Times along with a note, asking them to try it. The reply was, "come and get your paper", which he did. It wasn't long before the Times was eager and willing to buy this new and cheaper newsprint.
The revolution in paper-making in the Black River
region was complete: fourdrinier machines became bigger and bigger and faster and faster; the demand for spruce
was insatiable and the lumbermen practically denuded the virgin forests; the unpleasant odor of the sulphite mills replaced the equally unpleasant odor of the tanneries. Other paper-makers, emulating the success of the Remingtons embarked on a costly program of mass-production of wood pulp newsprint.
The first invention to revolutionize paper making was the fourdrinier machine
Fourdrinier machine
This article contains a glossary section at the end.Most modern papermaking machines are based on the principles of the Fourdrinier Machine. It has been used in some variation since its inception...
invented back in 1799, in France, by Nicholas Louis Robert and perfected by Henry and Sealey Fourdrinier. The second invention was the Keller-Voelter grinders for turning wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
into wood pulp
Wood pulp
Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibres from wood, fibre crops or waste paper. Wood pulp is the most common raw material in papermaking.-History:...
. Albrecht Pagenstecher, a German immigrant living in Stockbridge, MA, in 1866, together with his brother Rudolf, bought two Keller-Voelter grinders. On March 5, 1867 in Curtisville near Stockbridge, Massachusetts he was the first in this country to manufacture groundwood pulp and the first newsprint three days later. Pagenstecher made his pulp out of aspen or "popple", but soon exhausted his supply of this tree and the New York World reluctantly cancelled its contract for the newsprint. In despair, Pagenstecher returned to Germany (Saxony) and asked Voelter what he could do.
"We too have run out of popple," was the reply, "but we are using spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
. Have you any spruce in America?" To this he could only reply, "I do not know, but I'll find out." {This is what Bernhard Fernow must have been thinking when he clearcut hardwoods, replanting with Norway spruce at Axton}
Cornell Professor of Forest Management, and a leader and consultant to the pulp and paper industry, Arthur Bernhard Recknagel (1906 graduate of Yale forestry school; at Cornell from 1913–1943; forester and executive secretary of Empire State Forest Products Association * from 1917–1948; in 1920s and 30s he led his Cornell forestry students on field trips to the southern United States), used to tell how his uncle, Albrecht Pagenstecher, returned home and fortunately, asked his friend, Senator Warren Miller
Warren Miller
Warren Miller may refer to:* Warren Miller * Warren Miller * Warren Miller * Warren Miller * Warren Miller...
, who suggested that they go to Saratoga Springs and make inquiries there for spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
. From Saratoga they drove to Luzerne
Lake Luzerne, New York
Lake Luzerne is a town in southern Warren County, New York, United States. The town is located within the Adirondack Park. The town is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lake Luzerne is west of the city of Glens Falls. The town population was 3,219 at the 2000 census.- History...
, at the confluence of the Hudson
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
and Sacandaga
Sacandaga River
The Sacandaga River is a river in the northern part of New York in the United States. Its name comes from the Native American Sa-chen-da'-ga, meaning "overflowed lands"....
Rivers, and learned that spruce was abundantly available in these watersheds. The result of this trip was the Hudson River Pulp & Paper Company which started making groundwood and newsprint in 1869 at Palmer (Corinth
Corinth (town), New York
Corinth is a town in Saratoga County, New York, USA. The population was 5,985 at the 2000 census. The town contains a village also named Corinth. The town is on the northeast border of the county, north of Saratoga Springs. It regards itself as the "snowshoe capital of the world." The town is named...
), New York, near Luzerne. The Hudson River mill was the first in the chain of International Paper Company founded in 1898 by Uncle Albrecht
By this time, 1869, Illustrious Remington and his three sons, Hiram, Alfred D. and Charles R., were making a ton of newsprint daily in Watertown, New York, using four rag machines and an 84" fourdrinier machine. By 1870, the Remingtons, seeing a future for wood pulp, built three mills on Sewall's Island in Watertown. These mills used the Voelter process allowing a low-cost, high-quality Remington newsprint to be made of 75% rags and 25% wood pulp instead of all rag content paper costing five times more.
A third invention caught the imagination of the Remingtons. In 1867, Benjamin Tilghman, an American chemist, discovered that sulphurous acid (H2SO3) dissolved the lignin
Lignin
Lignin or lignen is a complex chemical compound most commonly derived from wood, and an integral part of the secondary cell walls of plants and some algae. The term was introduced in 1819 by de Candolle and is derived from the Latin word lignum, meaning wood...
in wood, leaving a residue of cellulose
Cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β linked D-glucose units....
fibers. Nought came of this discovery. However, Alfred D. Remington learned that a Swede, Carl Daniel Ekman
Carl Daniel Ekman
Carl Daniel Ekman was a Swedish chemical engineer who invented the form of the sulfite process of wood pulp manufacturing which was first established on a firm commercial basis, helping to replace rags as the main raw material of paper with wood pulp...
, was teaching papermakers in Sweden to make paper entirely out of wood pulp by using a sulphite process (SO3). Remington went to Sweden to see "This Miracle" for himself. He was so impressed that he imported Swedish chemical fiber for several years and later developed the "sulphite process" in his own plant on Sewall's Island.
The Remingtons were selling newsprint to the New York Times. They received an order for ten tons stipulating that the newsprint contain no wood pulp! A. D. Remington, proud of his new product, sent it to the Times along with a note, asking them to try it. The reply was, "come and get your paper", which he did. It wasn't long before the Times was eager and willing to buy this new and cheaper newsprint.
The revolution in paper-making in the Black River
Black River, New York
Black River is a village in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 1,285 at the 2000 census.The Village of Black River is on the border of the Town of Le Ray and the Town of Rutland...
region was complete: fourdrinier machines became bigger and bigger and faster and faster; the demand for spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
was insatiable and the lumbermen practically denuded the virgin forests; the unpleasant odor of the sulphite mills replaced the equally unpleasant odor of the tanneries. Other paper-makers, emulating the success of the Remingtons embarked on a costly program of mass-production of wood pulp newsprint.