St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1909-04-28
Special Town Meetings.
Connecticut Valley Lumber Co., May
Add to Prosperity of Barnet
and Monroe,

The town OF Barnet, and more especial
ly the village of McIndoes, is living in a
state of expectancy, for from present in
| dications the wheels OF industry which
| have for the past seven years lain dor
mant there will ere long be turning
again. Special town meetings have been
called in both Barnet and Monroe, N.
H., in response to petition. and at these
meetings vote will be taken to see
whether the town will exempt from
taxation any company which may build
mills there. This action is taken especial
ly on account of the Connecticut Valley
Lumber Co., of which George Van Dyke
is president and general manager, and
which has under way plans for building
pulp and paper mill there that will
cost at least $1,O00,000, and which will
give these two towns decided boost.
The plans are so far advanced that
the residents of McIndoes are already
talking municipal Improvements, such
as new sidewalks, wider streets, and a
consequent increase in real estate values.
1t is expected that work will be begun
at once on the new dam, which will
alone involve cost of over 100000,
and it is understood that an architect
will be in McIndoes this week to begin
work on the plans for the new plant.
Mclndoes has been practically without
an industry since the mills were closed
there seven years ago. At that time the
work which had for years been done
there, was transferred to Wilmington
and now all that remains to testify to
the towns former activity are a few
rusty water wheels that lie in the once
busy mill yards, a slip that is gradually
going to decay, and the unlimited water
power that is going to waste over the
tails.
The plans to build the new plant have
been under way for the past two years
and now the only obstacle which con-
fronts the promoters of the scheme is the
will Of the people, which will be express
ed at the meetings in Monroe on Satur-
day, May 8, and in Barnet, Monday,
May 10, and the general opinion in the
two towns is that the vote to exempt
the taxes will carry the meetings by
about 10 to l.
The Connecticut Valley Lumber COM
pany's plant at Wilmington will prob
ably be abandoned and the work brought
to the new plant, which according to a
conservative estimate will employ a.
round 200 hands. One of the chief pro-
ducts OF the new mill will be carbon
paper which will necessitate new and
expensive machinery aud this will be the
only plant in the country ever built for
the manufacture of the product.
One thing which may have hurried
along the plans for the mill at McIndoes
is the new Massachusetts law which
makes this the last year in which logs
can be hoated down the Connecticut
river into that state and whether the
conpany's large plant at Mt Tom will
be affected by the change, is not known.
Some idea OF the magnitude of the new
mills can be obtained from the fact that
the Ryegate Paper Companys plant at
East Ryegate cost approximately $780,
600, while the proposed McIndoes plant
will represent an outlay of over 81 ,OOO,-
OOO
AS the western boundary of New
Hampshire is marked by the low water
line on the Vermont side of the Connec-
ticut, the mills will of necessity lie partly
n Monroe, and this explains the interest
which Monroe people are taking in the
project. The benefits to Monroe Barnet,
and surrounding towns can hardly be
computed and the people of that vicinity
ire naturally very optimistic in regard
% the future.