Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1868-10-01
PRINTING-pApr
The Largest and Most Complete Manu-
factory I'm the C0uutry.

y
THE BUILDINGS, MACHINERY, PROGRESSES, w., Al
JEssUP u M0oRE's RocLAND MlIis
On the 18th of April, 1867, Jessup 4 Moore's
great paper mills, at Rockland, were completely
destroyed by fire.
On the following day the writer of this visited
the scene Of the conhagration and saw nothing
but cracked and blackencd walls smoulderlna
ruins and twisted and broken machinery to repre-
sent the three hundred thousand dollars worth Of
property which had stood there the day before.
The fire had left nothing unhuri, but had twisted,
cracked or otherwise ruined everything II did not
consume.
On that morning of gloom and confuslt n, the
calmest and most collected persons about the
place,-the ones most ready to answer questions
concerning the origin of the fire and extent of the
loss, were the propiietors themselves, on whom
tho great part of the loss fell but little of il being
covered by insurance.
In answer TO our inquiry as to what they would
do about 1t, they said there was, of course but
one thing to do-they should rebuild Immediate
ly;-and before the smoke from the old mill had
cleared away they were almost chetrIllly DISCUSS
Ing plans for new one.
OF the result of such pluck aud energy as this
we now propose to write.
Rockland Is a small village If u few hundred
Inhabitants, situated on the Brandywine, about
i've miles above this city, and deriving lis impor
lance, Its very existence in fac from The paper
mills OF the same name. Most OF the houses III,
the town are owned by Jessup ~ Moore, aud oc-
cupied by their operatives aud their families. The
town Is built on low piece Of ground near the
creek, aud back Of 1t rises almost perpcndcularly
Il high hill from which fine view of the village
md the whole surrounding country can be OBJ
taincd, while the observer can look down on the
high mills and even the top of the basin from
which they draw their supply Of pure water
winch Is many feet below. From this point the
best idea Of the extent OF tho buildings can be
| obtained.
The mills, proper, are all IN one large building.
or rather series of buildings, 245 feet in length
All are oil stone, quarrled In that neighborhood,
the place, us its name indicates, Astounding will
rocks. The building nearest the road is con-
nected with the Others, but has no communities
ton with them except through stone archways,
with iron fire proof doors This is the iag build.
Ing, and 1t Is III feet long nv 43 In With, and Ia
completely fire proof lhroug ,out. was In tie
rag room that tic fire Of 81 risinaed aud thence
communicated to the other buildings All the
rags in the present rag room might b. burned to
cindcr Without affecting the present. building or
The paper engine iooms where the pulp Is
prepared adjoln this, and the building containing
them Is two stories high, and its dimensions are
% by 60 feet. Next is the paper machine room,
~ by l00 feet, In two-story building with the
ponderous driving machinery in The first story
Beyo'd this again Is the 1nshi r.,.in, 78 by 100
feet the building being alsn tao stories high,
Inc teams driving in on the hrst Il mr and re-
celvlng their luads through the Ii ilclways above
Of from these buildings towards tile creek,
and directly over the race is the turbine water
wheel room, and on the opposite side is the steam
engine ROOM not yet finished To be 45 by 81
iect This building stands IN the angle formed
BY the rag building and tho paper engine build
Ing, but Is not connected with the mills, IN L
shaped alley running between il and the adjoin-
Ing buildings.
Across the road is the steam boiler room, u
separate building but one story high. though that
story is OF the height of two ordinary ones. Its
dimensions are 48 by 90 feet It now contains 10
Dlmpfel boilers, each 20 feet long by SO inches
~ diameter, and each capable of furnishing steam
for thirty horse power engine. A pair Of twin
boilers Of 80 horse power are being put up.
There is room for more Dmpfel boilers. These
boilers furnish all the steam necessary for
running the engines as well as that used for boil
ing, drying, and many other purposes.
The smoke stack is q truly wonderful one,
and more nearly resembles IL shot tower than
anything else. 1t is round built of brick. is
hnteen feet IN diuinefer al Its base and gradually
tapers It's whole height of 90 feet until il is seven
meadous and swings to heavy iron door with
ease.
Above this boiler room, spme distance up the
hill, is reservoir capable of holding three mil.
lions Of gallons Of water which supplies water to
the beating engines and the paper machines
where clear water Is requiled.
The whole OF the buildings have slate roofs
with iron rafters, aud the span Of the roof In the
paper engine room is o. feet. The Iron frame
was manufactured by the Pho Xix Iron Company
at Phnnixville, and is the largest that Company
ever made.
The work OF rebuilding was done by men hired
directly by the owners, under the general super
inltndence of Messrs Thomas Liud uy. Snpcrn-
tendenL of the Augustine Mills. aud William
Luke, Superintendent of these mills.
The Architect and consulting engineer was
Henry J. Taylor, Of Philadelphia. Frank Per.
kins. now Of the firm of Perkins ~ Wedic. In
this city, superintendent the masonry until the
mill was nearly completed aud was succeeded in
this superintendent by Robert Lee, of the firm
of Lee II Hizer, ofthis city
The mill is driven by three Jonval Turbine
water wheels OF 200 horse power, and there is
now being put up Babcock & Wilcox Condcns-
ing Engine, with cylinder 2S inches in diameter
and five feet stroke, 800 horse power to assist the
water wheels. The iy-whccl Of this engine is 20
feet In diameter, and the power will be conveyed
to the main shatt,now driven by the water wheels
alone, by belt 10 feet in length and three feet
II inches In width.
The paper machines are driven by Corliss Gu.
The two eighiy-six inch Four,lreiulr paper ma.
chimes were built by Pusey, Jones q Co., n this
city.
Tho other. III eighty-four Il CHI machine, was
built by Smith u Winchester, South Windham,
Connecticut.
The principal shaftng and all the rollers and
paper engines were made by j. Morton Poole IL
CO., of this city. at
Pusey, Jones q Co. made the boilers.
The rag room machinery was made by Megaw,
Blllany q Gregg, and by Robert H. Barr & Co.,
Of this city.
The Babcock & Wilson engine was made by
the South Brooklyn, IN Y.,) Steam Engine aud
The Corliss engine was about the only thing left
by the fire In the old mill and 1t was rebuilt by j.
Morton Poole Il Co.
The Turbine water wheels were erected by E.
Guy Lynn, OF Philadelphia.
The old mill was destroyed as above stated
April Goth, 1S67,-the day of the great Smith
tragedy In this city. Workmcn immediately
commenced clearing away the debris, apd the
first stone in tho foundation of the new structure
was laid on the Path of the following June. The
first paper was made In August, 1868
1t has cost to rebuild the mills and put up the
new machinery, from 100000 to $3.50, 900, and
their capacity is from 10000 to 10000 pounds Of
paper per day.
About 100 hands are employed the Larger pro-
portion OF whom, since wood pulp commenced
TO be used are men. When rugs alone were used
there WEI about equal numbers o1Hach SIX. The
women from to cents an hour. The mills run
day and night, the hands changing at noon and
midnight. Sixteen Transfers have constant EN-
ployment hauling to and from the mills
| Having no1 made our readers somewhat ac-
quainted with the buildings, and the fierce II tukes
to run the mills, wa will aiierntt 10 give some
idea OF the process OF manufacture urd as nearly
us We can, tell
tA now rArr, is MADE.
The rags are hoisted in bales into the third
| story of what VIC have called the rag building"
aud not rags alone but ropes etc. y hey are here
unbaled and siczed upon i'y crowd of workers,
both male and female, who sort them, rip OF
buttons, cue. They pass Though a dust engine
| as sood as uLbaled. Tins dust engine is simply
| an octagonal cylinder of wire sewing, REVOLVING
rapidly in an iron drum and shakes up and Sits
the dirt and dust out of the rags. The sorted
rags are run througha machine called Devil"
which tears and cuts them considerably, after
which they are sent to the door below.
Before leaving the third story we step Into slie
"bleaching powder" room OF one end Of the
building where we tiud great many barrels Of
chloride of lime and four large watts In which 1t Is
being dissolved The clearsulution Is drawn from
these watts to n large tank beneath them, whence
1t is carried by pipes to where il is needed. The