The Birth of the Paper Valley

Background Information

The decline of wheat farming in Wisconsin and the growth of the logging industry opened the way for papermaking to come to the Fox Valley.  This industry had both immediate and long-lasting effects on the environment and economy.  The Fox Valley remains one of the nation’s leading producers of paper products, particularly specialty and coated papers.

The first paper mills to open in the Valley were the Richmond Brothers’ Mill (1853) and the Appleton Paper Company (1866).  These early mills were built on the Fox River in Appleton and produced cotton rag paper.  In 1872, as wheat crop failures left a void in the economy, the Keller ground-wood process for making pulp was introduced to the Valley.  This was a key event because Wisconsin was still heavily forested.  Loggers felled trees by the thousands, shipping many to mills in Appleton, Neenah-Menasha, and Kaukauna.  Machines at these mills de-barked, chipped, ground, and boiled the wood in a chemical bath to produce wood pulp.

Three important aspects of the Fox Valley region made it ideal for the paper industry.  Firstly, the timber resources of the area provided the raw material for paper production.  Secondly, as flour mills fell silent when wheat crops failed, they could be converted to paper mills.  Lastly, the Fox River drops approximately 170 ft. between Lake Winnebago and Green Bay.  The fast-moving water could be harnessed to turn water wheels and power the paper mills.  In the 1860s, the national demand for paper increased.  During the U.S. Civil War, paper was needed to report the news of the war and to keep soldiers and their families in touch with each other.  At the same time, the production capabilities also increased.  The Fourdrinier Paper Machine mechanized the paper-making process and was in popular use by the mid-1800s.  The conditions in the Fox Valley were right to meet the increased need by opening mills with the most up-to-date machinery.

Some of the companies that were born during this time include the Appleton Paper and Pulp Company, the Thilmany Pulp and Paper Company, the Valley Pulp and Paper Company, the Eagle Mill, the Combined Locks Paper Company, Kimberly Clark and Company, the George Banta Paper Company (later Central Paper Company), and the Bergstrom Paper Company.  Some of these companies are still in business today, though in some cases the name has changed.

Paper-making also led to the growth of other industries such as the wire-weaving and felt-making industries.  Appleton Wire Works opened in 1895 to weave wire clothing for the paper machines.  Pulp is poured onto the wire clothing allowing water to drip through.  The wire screen is seamed into a continuous loop and serves as a conveyor belt that moves the pulp through cylinders that press water out of it and over dryers, finally winding it onto a big roll.  Between the 1930s and the 1960s, Appleton Wire Works grew into the largest wire-weaving company in the United States.  In 1968, Albany Felt Company purchased Appleton Wire Works and reorganized into Albany International. 

Felt is also needed in the papermaking process.  In 1890, the Appleton Woolen Mills made its first wet felt for papermaking.  The felt covers rollers that carry the pulp from the forming section (where it is poured onto the machine) to the dryer section.  The felts drain water from the pulp and give it a smooth finish.  Now called Appleton Mills, the company now uses synthetic fibers to produce felts for paper machines.

The paper-making industry and its support industries today remain important contributors to the Fox Valley economy.  However, their legacies also show a negative effect upon the environment, through pollution of the Fox River and groundwater as well as the clear cutting of trees.  Today, the industry is addressing these problems through clean-up projects on the river and reforestation efforts.

Click on a Primary Source Document or a Classroom Activity

Activity #1: Appleton: Perfect for Paper

Activity #2: The Richmond Brothers and You: Fox Valley Papermakers

Activity #3: Beaten to a Pulp

Article "Paper and Pulp Mills," Illustrated Annual Review of the Appleton Post Devoted to the City of Appleton, Wisconsin, Its Water Power and Industries; also An Historical Sketch of the Fox River, 1879.

Advertisement for Appleton Paper Mills, in the Appleton Crescent, April 25, 1857.

Photograph of the interior of an unidentified Fox Valley paper mill, circa 1905.

Newspaper article "Appleton Paper Mills," Appleton Crescent, March 24, 1860.

Photograph of the Richmond Brothers Paper Mill, 1882.