St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1893-08-31
LETTER FROM 0LC0TT.
DESCRIBING ONE OF VERMONT'S
FAMOUS INDUSTRIES.

Especial Correspondence of the CALIFORNIAN.
n WEST LEBANON, N. H., Aug. 90
o Doubtless many of your readers will
o ask, "Where is Olcott?" and to Civ
them the coveted information, ant
, to inform them what hustling lit
tie borough it is, l ask permission
, to give brief history of the birth
f and rapid growth of this busy little
"spot" in the northeast part OF the
town of Hartford, about "a OF mile
north Of White River Junction, on
the Connecticut river, for many
years known as Olcott Falls. No
riverman who has ever been en-
ployed upon the Connecticut river
will need to be informed as to the To-
cation of these falls, as they seldom
pass by them with their yearly drive
of lumber without losing one or
more of their number by drowning,
and it has always been considered
one of the most dangerous points
on the river.
Sometime in the vicinity of 1888,
the land on either side Of these falls,
together with the water power, was
purchased by the Olcott Falls Co.,
the principal member of the firm be-
ing Mr.. Wilder, one of the larg-
est and most prosperous paper and
pul p manufacturers in New England,
and in 1884 the work of building
the dam and laying the foundation
for paper and pulp mill was begun.
1t was gigantic undertaking, and
was not completed until 1890, at a
cost of nearly one million of dollars.
1t is one of the most substantially
built paper and pulp mills in the
country. 1t is built upon a rock"
and the rains and floods cannot
sweep it away.
The mill has a floor space of nearly
five acres, and there are employed
in and about the establishment
about three hundred men. Its out
put is some forty tons of paper and
one hundred and sixty tons of wet
pulp per day Its yearly consump-
tion of lumber is about six million
feet.
This mill produces all kinds of
newspaper, both in rolls and in the
fiat and has among its numerous pa
irons, the Chicago Inter-Ocean 10
tons per day The New York Adj
vertiser, the Philadelphia Ledger
and the Sunday School Times. The
paper for the Philadelphia Ledger is
made ninety inches in width and is
shipped in rolls Of from six hundred
to eighteen hundred pounds per roll.
About eight thousand horse power
is required to run the entire machin-
cry of this plant, which is about
equally distributed through twenty
one water-wheels.
| little dreamed, few years ago
when used to sit upon the huge
rocks at these falls, that in so short
a time such gigantic mills would be
erected here, and much less that
the broad plateau just in the rear
would be occupied by dwellings,
stores, shops, hotels, post-office and
churches, and every branch of bust
ness usually transacted in full
hedged village of over seven hundred
souls. Yet such is the fact, and to
day, where just few years ago
could not be heard the sound of the
hammer or the voice of man, is es-
tablished one of the busiest little
boroughs to be found in Vermont.
The readers of your paper, and
especially those resident your beau
tiful city, will feel just sense of
pride when inform them that
nearly all the machinery, both me-
chanically and intellectually, is run
by former St. Johnsburyites. Mr.. E.
Goss, formerly of your city, is the
mechanical engineer of these mills,
and many of the modern appliances
used in the mechanical department
ofthis great plant are of his own in
vention, and the whole plant has
been constructed under his personal
supervision, and reflects great credit
upon his superior skill and inventive
genius. A. R. Brooks, general ac-
countant and book-keeper, is also a
st. Johnsburyite, as is also E. c.
Pierce, manager OF the supply store.
c. H. Powers, formerly of Lyndon
vile, is superintendent of the pulp
mill.
Your correspondent is indebted to
Mr.. Goss for his courteousy in
showing him over this model estab-