The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 43

Author: Haddock, John A., b. 1823-
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Albany, N. Y., Weed-Parsons printing company
Number of Pages: 1098

USA > New York > Jefferson County > The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894 > Part 43

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Having reached Watertown in our de- scription of the pulp mills of Black river, we will now describe the paper mill and bag factory of the Taggart Brothers' Company. It is sometimes the case that a very large industry may have been in active operation in a city for so long a time, and its daily routine so noiselessly conducted as to elicit but little observation, because there is no novelty about it. Such, it seems to me, may be the case in the quiet and peaceable management of the Taggart Bros.' Paper and Bag Co., whose extensive plant. as all our people know, is in Pamelia, but within the corporate limits of Watertown.

At the point occupied by their large mills they are the owners of one-half of the whole water-power of Black river. To sus- tain the tremendous pressure of spring freshets they have been obliged to rebuild half of the dam at that point; and to make entirely safe the bulkhead from which their great flume is supplied, they have built a solid wall of very thick and high masonry, bedded npon the solid rock of the river. The cost of this substantial improvement must have run into many thousands of dol-

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lars, as such operations are always expen- sive. The available water power at this point is calculated at 3,000 horse-power.

The head and fall is something over four- teen feet at low water, which keeps the fiume well filled, ready to drive the eleven beating engines, the last three of which are now nearly completed. In addition to these engines, the paper-making machinery, the rope-cutting and rotary bleaching boiler, the bag-printing presses, and the many other machines incident to so large a plant are all driven by their immense water- power. In the paper manufacturing de- partment alone they can turn out seven tons of paper per day, and in the bag-manu- facturing room they have one machine that makes a bag with satchel-bottom, direct from the roll, at the rate of 3,600 finished bags per hour, completing with ease 25,000 fifty-pound flour sacks in 10 hours. The use of this, the "Stillwell " machine, is. limited to a very few mills. Mr. B. B. Tag- gart was one of the first to aid in develop- ing the original device, and when he sold his interest in the machines at a round profit, he reserved the right to manufacture at his own mills. This very ingenious and complicated machine takes in paper at one end and turns out bags at the other with a rapidity that is astonishing. The firm has also smaller "Stillwell " machines for smaller sacks, but the smallest size they make is the 10-pound sack for flour, sugar, coffee, or any substance requiring a strong bag.

Among the many improvements being de- veloped at the Taggarts' mill is machinery by which the paper, as it is made into rolls, is to receive upon one side a coating of colored size, enabling that firm to sell a bag with the inside dark or shaded, to contrast with the whiteness of the flour, and the out- side of a clear white. Millers have become quite fastidious of late about their flour sacks, having found out that a handsome label helps to sell their goods.

This firm has many " kinks " in their bag business. They now print a certain portion of their sacks before the satchel-bottom is formed, thus enabling them to print right on the bottom of the sack. This, of course, necessitates passing the bags through the machine which forms the bottom, and then they pass through still another machine to give the crimping at the top, which enables the sack to be readily gathered together for tfeing.

The sacks of this firm are made from old rope, manilla or hemp, and do not admit of the use of any other stock, for flour sacks must be strong and yet pliable. Wood-pulp makes a brittle, harsh product without much strength, but is admirably adapted to all the cheaper qualities of paper.

The consumption of coal is about 4 tons per day, and the output of the mill about 7 tons. Taking into consideration the incom- ing freiglit as well as the output, some 3 to

5 cars are needed daily to deliver and carry away their freight.

The writer remembers Mr. B. B. Taggart when he made bags on Beebee's Island from such paper as he could purchase on the market. He was the pioneer in that busi- ness in this part of the State, and now his company manufactures bags from their own paper, made in their own mill, print them on their own presses. and can sell bags be- low any other manufacturers, for they have cheap power, large buildings that were bought at a low figure, and the firm retains within itself the profits which many other concerns are obliged to divide among a half- a-dozen middle-men.

These paper industries have been a great and lasting benefit to Watertown, providing "work for willing hands to do," and build -. ing up industries that challenge the com- mercial world for their completeness.

The Taggarts have not been altogether ex- empt from fire losses. On Dec. 24, 1876, their paper and bag mill was on fire, burn- ing out the eastern section. Their works were stopped for two weeks only, the enter- prise of these two remarkable men having overcome obstacles that slower people would have taken months to surmount. The les- son of that fire, however, was not lost upon them, and they were the first in this sec- tion to introduce the Hall system of auto- matic sprinklers into their large mill. It has direct connection with the city water- works, and any ordinary fire would have a very wet time indeed in trying to make headway there.

THE C. R. REMINGTON & SON COMPANY.

This is a mill of large capacity, having two Foudrinier paper machines, sufficient for a daily product of 20 tons of print paper. The chemical fibre of this, as most of the other mills, comes from the sulphite mill of the Remington Paper Company. The C. R. Remington & Son Company's mill has grind- ers enough to turn out 18 tons of wood pulp per day. and employs a force of 55 to 60 men. The plant is estimated at $300,000.

THE ONTARIO PAPER COMPANY.

Descending the river we next come to the great Ontario mill. This mill was built by a stock company in 1887. the capital in- vested being about $300,000. Its present output is 20 tons of print paper per day, of the value of $1,200. They have two large paper machines. The officers of the com- pany are Geo. W Knowlton, President: S. F. Bagg, Vice-President; E. B. Sterling, Secretary and Treasurer. The timber used for pulp is mainly spruce from the Adiron- dack region. They employ from 70 to 80 hands.

AT BROWNVILLE.

OUTTERSON PAPER COMPANY .- This or- ganization is of recent origin, and is offi- cered by J. F. Outterson, as President, and

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Charles Outterson. as Secretary. It has 3 pulp grinders, 1 Foudrinier paper machine, and has a capacity of 5 tons of paper per day. It employs about 25 hands, procures its timber from the Adirondacks, and the estimated value of the plant is $40,000.

THE GLOBE PAPER COMPANY -Located at Brownville, of which T. W. Waller, of Watertown. is President, and E. A. Flanni- gan, Secretary, has 5 grinders and 1 paper machine, with a capacity of 4 tons per day; employs about 20 hands; makes manilla wrapping paper, and the estimated value of the plant is $40,000.

THE BROWNVILLE PAPER COMPANY .- President, C. H. Remington, of Watertown; Secretary and Treasurer, J. M. Gamble, also of Watertown. The mill has 3 pulp grind- ers, 1 Foudrinier paper machine, which turns out about 7 tons of paper per day; 24 to 28 men are employed. Timber procured from the Adirondacks. The value of the plant is estimated at $60,000. This mill is also of recent origin.

AT DEXTER.

THE ST. LAWRENCE PAPER COMPANY, of Dexter, built its paper mill in 1889, and be- gan to make paper in March, 1890-a pulp mill having been set in operation about three years earlier.

They now run 5 grinders, with 1 Fou- drinier paper machine. They grind all the mechanical pulp they use and purchase their chemical fibre from other parties. The mill grinds about 8 tons of pulp per day and turns out from 10 to 12 tons of print paper daily, and employs from 36 to 40 workmen. Pay-roll amounts to over $400 per week. They procure their timber from Canada and the Adirondacks.

The officers of the company are Hon. Henry Binninger, of Dexter, President ; Chas. M. Otis, of Watertown, Vice-Presi- dent; and E. P. Binninger, Acting Secretary and Treasurer. The value of the daily out- put is about $400. The value of the plant, including 1,600 acres of spruce-wood land in the Adirondacks (on which no timber has yet been cut), is estimated at $100,000. This mill uses both steam and water power.

THE FRONTENAC PAPER COMPANY, at Dexter, Richard Marcy, of Watertown, President ; Fremont W. Spicer, of Dexter, Vice-President and General Manager ; L. S. Lansing, of Watertown, Secretary and Treasurer. This mill was started in 1889 and made the first paper in March, 1890. Has three pulp-grinders with a capacity of six tons per day; one Bagley & Sewall Company Foudrinier paper machine, and turns out about eight tons of print paper per day. They employ from 28 to 30 work- men; pay-roll per week about $325. The estimated value of plant is $100,000. They use both water and steam power, getting their timber from Canada and the Adiron- dacks. This mill stands on the south branch of the river, on the very foundations

of the first saw mill built in Dexter. They sell their product principally in New York city.

DEXTER SULPHITE AND PAPER COMPANY. -Dr. C. E. Campbell, President; G. Overall, Vice- President, both of New York city ; E. F. Birmingham, Secretary, Dexter. The company employ about seventy men ; huy their wood delivered at Dexter, some from Canada, but the major part from the Adirondacks, much of which is floated down the river. Use about 200 cords per week, mostly spruce. The process of this sulphite mill differs from the Remington Company. in being slower - the cooking process lasting about fifty hours, while the Remington process is completed in twelve hours. They use here a weaker acid at a lower temperature and lower pressure, and consequently take a longer time, and the claim is that it makes a stronger fibre. The process is known as the "Mitscherlick." This mill contains eight digesters of nine tons' capacity each, set in a horizontal posi- tion instead of upright, and turns out from twenty to twenty-five tons of fibre per day, at a value of about $1,100. Their pay-roll is about $500 per week. The fibre produced by this great mill is sold to all parts of the State, and takes the place of rags in the manufacture of news or cheap manilla. The acid seems to eat out the fat of the wood and leaves only the muscle (so to speak), and, in a thick sheet, is about as tough as leather. It is used by putting a certain per cent. of it with mechanical pulp and grinding them together in a rag-beating engine. This mill occupies the building of the Old Woolen Mill at Dexter, and has been in operation about five years. The value of the plant is estimated at $225,000. Mr. Drewsen is and has been the Superin- tendent for the past three years.

GENERAL SUMMARY.

We have thus given the details of the large investments of capital and the amount of labor employed in the pulp and paper industry of Jefferson county. The magni- tude of this interest has surprised the col- lector of the facts, as it doubtless will the reader, the most of it having sprung into existence since the discovery of the process of converting wood into paper. The capital invested aggregates over $4,000,000; the workmen employed number nearly 1,000 ; the daily product aggregates nearly 200 tons, valued at $10,000, a large sum of money, which is focused at this point from a widely surrounding section of country. The pioneers of this great industry, and particularly the ones whose sagacity origin- ally applied it here, are entitled to the thanks of the public for their persevering and tenacious purpose in originating and developing the business to its present magnitude.

THE REMINGTONS.

The citizens of Watertown do not need to be told that this is an important, very indus-

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trious and highly respectable family, all more or less engaged in paper making or in its kindred industry, the manufacture of wood pulp. They are so numerous and their property so extensive, that we have thought it best to speak of them separately and individually, in order to avoid con- fusion.

THE REMINGTON PAPER COMPANY, A. D. Remington, President, are the owners and operators of the great sulphite pulp works and paper mill, midway of Sewall's Island. They have also a pulp mill on the south shore of the river, and one on the north branch of Black river, upon the site where Hiram and A. D. Remington and their father, under the firm name of I. Reming- ton & Son, began to make paper. They also own and operate a pulp mill at Glen Park, below the poor house.

THE WATERTOWN PAPER COMPANY, H. Remington, President, owns and operates the large paper mill at the upper end of Sewall's Island, and the H. Remington & Son Pulp and Paper Company own and operate the extensive pulp mill at Black River. just above the lower bridge.

THE C. R. REMINGTON & SON COMPANY, C. R. Remington, President, own and operate the extensive paper and pulp mill at Wood's Falls, in Glen Park.

It will be observed that Mr. Illustrious Remington and his two sons, of Manlius, Onondaga county. N. Y., were the men who furnished the means for starting the paper mill on the O'Dougherty property in Jew- ettsville, where they began to make paper, and where were laid the foundations of the prosperity of this family in Watertown. His son. Charles Rollin, soon joined them, and then other members of the family came, until they are now a strong family influence in this city. It may be said that, although there were paper mills here from an early date. there was no great progress in the business beyond filling a purely local de- mand, until the era of the great power presses, which chanced to be soon after the senior Remington and his sons had con- menced in Jewettsville. Indeed, previous to building their first mill, there had not been a carload of paper a month sent away from Watertown by rail. This family were then, in a sense, the actual pioneers in the recent great developments in paper making. They were soon followed by Mr. B. B. Tag- gart, who has kept close up to them in all the great developments of the paper indus- try, as well as being himself the actual pio- neer in the paper bag and manilla paper in- dustry, now so important a factor in Water- town's daily labors. We wish to put on record the fact that the first successful de- velopment of the all-wood paper industry in America was made at Watertown by the Remington Paper Company .

The Messrs. Remington and Mr. Taggart, as well, have not spent in other localities the money made here. They have built

many houses and aided in every great im- provement in the city. Messrs. A. D. and C. R. Remington and Mr. E. M. Gates built the Opera House, as fine a building for its purpose as can be found in any small city in the United States.

EARLY WATERTOWN.

The author of this history, in common with all other early residents of Watertown, feels a sense of obligation to Mr. Brockway for his interesting articles, from which we have condensed what follows, and added such data of our own as we have been able to accumulate. In these articles we have another illustration of the value of historical research and its perpetuation by the printed page. If Mr. Brockway had left no other evidence of his ability as a writer, or of his devotion to the interests of Watertown, these historical articles would commend him to affectionate remembrance.

The settlement of Watertown village may be said to have commenced in 1800; for though there were purchases of real estate in this locality previous to that date, it is believed that no buildings were erected un- til ahout 1800 or 1801.

Tilley R. Sheldon, son of Joseph Sheldon, who resided a good part of his life on Dry Hill, and who obtained the story from one or more of the parties, tells us that Eliphalet Edmunds and his brother came down the Black river in the fall of 1798. They were from Clarendon, Vt., and hearing that game was plenty in this section, came in pursuit of it. They built a boat at the High (now Lyons) Falls. and descended the stream without great difficulty until they reached the falls here. Undertaking to get their boat over these, it was upset and the con- tents. among them two valuable guns, were emptied into the river and lost. The two Edmunds then went south, one of them settling near the mouth of Sandy creek, in Ellisburgh, and the other in the town of Adams, one mile north of the present vil- lage. The next year, or the one following, Nathaniel and Seyrel Harrington and Joshua Priest, who were acquaintances of the Edmunds in Vermont, came on and settled on Dry Hill. These men were soon joined by Joseph Sheldon, Benjamin Fas- sett, John Losee, John Babcock, John Par- sells, Patrick Agan (father of P. H. Agan, of Syracuse, for years editor of the Syracuse Standard), Samuel and John Knapp, Sam- uel Rockwell, J. Sikes (father of the late Dr. Sikes), James Glass, Jonathan E. Miles, Tilley Richardson (on the Jacob Stears place), Seth Peck and Francis Lamon, grand- father of F. P. and J. J. Lamon, of Water- town.

The first settlers in Watertown, or the first who made considerable purchases of real estate in what became the village and afterwards the city thus named, were Mr. Cowan, Henry Coffeen, the Masseys (Hart

THE C. R. REMINGTON & SON'S MILL AT GLEN PARK.

THE REMINGTON PAPER COMPANY'S LOWER MILL.

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CITY OF WATERTOWN.

and Isaiah), and Zacharias Butterfield. The latter acquired title to all, or nearly all, the land between Washington and State streets; the Masseys, one or both, secured all the territory west of Washington street, while Mr. Coffeen took possession of the land be- tween Court and Arsenal streets to the western boundaries, but Jonathan Cowan paid more attention to the water power. Ezekiel Jewett bought of Nicholas Low, the original proprietor of the settlement, 400 acres of land north of State street. Mr. Cof- feen came from Oneida county, but ,was a native of Vermont. The Masseys were like- wise from the Green Mountain State, while Mr. Butterfield was from New Hampshire. Isaiah Massey erected and kept the first hotel, which was situated at the head of the Public Square, between the American Ar- cade and the Paddock Arcade. Mr. Butter- field erected a log cabin on a portion of the land now covered by Washington Hall block, while Mr. Coffeen built a hut just west of the Iron block. Hart Massey re- sided first in a log house near the Paddock Arcade entrance, then in a frame house on the lot on Washington street where E. L. Paddock now lives, but after a few years built the brick dwelling on Massey avenue, which was then in the country. It is still owned by some of his descendants. These pioneers came to Watertown by a road from Utica which passed through Burrville, thence over the Reservoir Hill, striking Washington street, and thence down Wash- ington street to the Public Square. Cowan is supposed to have held title to the strip of land between the Square and Court street and the river, but it may possibly have been embraced in the original purchase of the parties above named. Certain it is that portions of the tract were disposed of for milling and mechanical purposes; for we find that in 1803 Jonathan Cowan erected a grist mill near the site of the Union Mills. and a little later (in 180s) Gurdon Caswell built a paper mill and commenced the manu- facture of paper.

Previous to 1805 it was not satisfactorily determined that the territory selected by the Masseys, Mr. Coffeen and Mr. Butterfield was the most eligible one for the founding of a village. It was at one side of the town proper, and the stream was so large that the settlers had doubts if it could ever be dammed. So there were rival settle- ments at Burrville, at Watertown Centre, another known as Field's Settlement, and there was a large gathering of farmers on Dry Hill, which competent judges declare to be one of the most fertile regions on the American continent. Watertown village was not tlien, by any means, nor until years afterwards, conceded to be the business center.

William Smith was in Watertown as early as 1803, and became a resident of the village in 1804, or thereabonts; he was the father of George Smith, long a resident of

Watertown. After 1804 the hamlet that in 1895 is known as the city of Watertown, began to attract settlers, but nevertheless there was considerable rivalry between Watertown and Burrville until the organi- zation of the county in 1805, and the former had been designated the county seat, after which Judge Foster, Orville Hungerford and others, who had been located in Burr- ville, came to Watertown to reside. Wil- liam Smith and John Paddock opened a store in 1805. A school-house was erected about where the Universalist Church stands, in which the courts and supervisors held their sessions, and other buildings began to go up in various parts of the settlement. A dam was erected on the south branch of Black river, at Beebe's island, about 1804, and a second one was built a few years later by Bailey & Clark, and was situated near the one now belonging to the Taggarts, which that firm purchased from Gen. W. H. Angel.

Jason Fairbanks came here from Massa- chusetts in 1808, and Calvin MeKnight about the same time. Gurdon Caswell, as has been previously stated, built a paper mill about where the Knowlton paper mills stand in 1807. Marinus W. Gilbert and Egbert Ten Eyck were likewise among the early settlers. Mr. Ten Eyck was at one time first judge of the county, was elected to the Legislature in 1812, and in 1824 he was elected to Congress. Joshua Beals was an early comer, and was one of the side judges. Orville Hungerford undoubtedly came here with Judge Foster, for he was a clerk in that gentleman's store while in Burrville, and in 1805 that store was re- moved to Watertown. David W. Bucklin, a lawyer of ability, was admitted to prac- tice in 1811. Samuel C. Kanaday was a prominent lawyer and surveyor, and opened one of the first law offices in the county. He was afterwards agent of Le Ray in the sale of his lands. Daniel Brainard came here from Oneida county in 1805 and en- gaged in the practice of medicine. He married a sister of Orville Hungerford and died in 1810. He was the father of O. V. Brainard, so long and honorably connected with. the Jefferson County Bank. Paul Hutchinson was admitted to the practice of medicine in 1809, and became one of the physicians of Watertown. In the same year Dr. Amasa Trowbridge became his partner. and he spent the remainder of his life in Watertown. Dr. Trowbridge was one of the most eminent surgeons of his time, having seen service in the war of 1812.

Samuel Whittlesey came here in 1807, was a lawyer by profession, and district attorney of the district composed of Jefferson, St. Lawrence and Lewis counties from 1811 to 1813. Jonathan Cowan's grist mill in Watertown went into operation in 1805. Henry Coffeen and Andrew Edmunds are said to have built the bridge at the foot of

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Court street in 1803. Two years later one or more saw mills were put in operation on the north side of the river. one of them having been erected by R. T. Potter. Shortly after, a grist mill was added by Seth Bailey and Gershamn Tuttle.

For its Public Square, Watertown appears to have been indebted to Johnathan Cowan, Henry Coffeen, Zachariah Butterfield, Jesse Doolittle, Medad Canfield, Aaron Keyes, Hart and Isaiah Massey, who owned ad join- ing property. For this a monument should be erected to their memory. Washington street was made the broad street that it is by some of same parties, and Mr. Coffeen, not to be outdone by the above-named gen- tlemen, had a wide street laid out in front of his premises which he styled Madison street.

It has been stated that Mr. Coffeen pro- posed to donate the piece of land between Court, Massey and Coffeen streets, fronting the old court-house, to the village for a park, but as that most liberal offer was not promply accepted, the proposition was withdrawn and the land put in market and soon covered with buildings This at least is true: The late Colonel George W. Flower, when mayor of Watertown, suggested the purchase of this ground by the city, and the removal of the buildings with the view of converting it into a public park, but the Council did not second the idea and the thing was dropped.

In the meantime the county of Jefferson had organized -Watertown being made the county seat after an animated struggle with the village of Brownville. As a sort of compromise the county buildings were located upon the bluff at the head of Massey street (then called Madison). The first court- house was built upon a spot north of the present jail and midway in the street that now runs from Coffeen to Court street. The architect and builder was Wm. Smith. The location of the county buildings upon that site had a tendency to advance the growth of the village in that direction, and it is noticeable that the property in the vicinity of the court-house was rapidly built up, and the rest of the village had en- joyed something of a " hoom." Streets had been laid out, a considerable number of dwellings, blocks and mills had been con- structed, and the general appearance of the village had changed entirely.

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The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 43

Author: Haddock, John A., b. 1823- Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Albany, N. Y., Weed-Parsons printing company Number of Pages: 1098

Author: Haddock, John A., b. 1823-
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Albany, N. Y., Weed-Parsons printing company
Number of Pages: 1098