S. D. Warren Paper Mill
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The S. D. Warren Paper Mill is a paper mill on the
Presumpscot River The Presumpscot River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 30, 2011 river located in Cumberland County, Maine. It is the main outlet of Sebago Lake. The river ...
in
Westbrook, Maine Westbrook is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States and a suburb of Portland. The population was 20,400 at the 2020 census, making it the fastest-growing city in Maine between 2010 and 2020. It is part of the Portland– South Portla ...
. It is now owned by SAPPI Limited, a
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n paper concern. It is one of Westbrook's major employers. The mill complex and former worker and management housing associated with the mill's operation in the 19th century were listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1974 as the Cumberland Mills Historic District.


History

The Warren paper mill is a large sprawling industrial complex spanning the Presumpscot River just north of Cumberland Street in central eastern Westbrook. A paper mill was established on this site in the 1730s, when it was a rural and fairly unpopulated area. In 1854, that small
paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...
, in the soon-to-be established town of Westbrook, was purchased for $28,000 by
Samuel D. Warren Samuel D. Warren (1817-1888) was an American paper magnate and the founder of the S. D. Warren Paper Mill in Westbrook, Maine. Noted for his benevolence and paternalism, Warren built a commercial block adjacent to the mill which is named in his hon ...
, known as S. D. Warren, uncle of George W. Hammond, who also worked there.Yarmouth History Center
– Newsletter, Fall 2017
The mill was named Grant, Warren and Company. In that year, the mill was only running two paper machines and had a production output of about 3,000 pounds of paper per day. Nine years later in 1863, an additional machine was added to the mill, and the production increased to 11,000 pounds per day. In 1854, paper was made by beating down rags and using the pulp from the rags. In 1867, after the mill changed its name to S. D. Warren Paper Mill Company, Warren decided to add wood fibers with rags fibers for paper. It was the first mill in the United States to do so. The mill became the largest in the world. By 1880, the mill produced 35,000 pounds of paper per day. Warren died in 1888 and was succeeded by his son, also
Samuel D. Warren II Samuel Dennis Warren (1852 – February 18, 1910), also Samuel Dennis Warren II, was an American attorney from Boston, Massachusetts. Biography Warren was born in 1852. His father was also named Samuel D. Warren, known as S.D. Warren, who found ...
, who managed the business until his death in 1910. The mill continued to grow through the 20th century, employing close to 3,000 Westbrook residents. Scott Paper Company diversified operations through purchase of S. D. Warren in 1967. Scott Paper company operated the S.D. Warren Company as a wholly owned subsidiary until 1994, when it sold this leading producer of light-weight and heavy-weight coated papers. In 1995, SAPPI Limited, a paper company based in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
paid $300 million for the mill and outsourced most of the work in the mill to South Africa. The mill now only employs about 300 people, but continues to be a presence in the city of Westbrook. The mill property and a number of surrounding properties were listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1974. Included in this listing were the mill itself, a row of Shingle style worker housing on Brown Street (from designs by
John Calvin Stevens John Calvin Stevens (October 8, 1855 – January 25, 1940) was an American architect who worked in the Shingle Style, in which he was a major innovator, and the Colonial Revival style. He designed more than 1,000 buildings in the state of Maine ...
and
Andrew Jackson Downing Andrew Jackson Downing (October 31, 1815 – July 28, 1852) was an American landscape designer, horticulturist, and writer, a prominent advocate of the Gothic Revival in the United States, and editor of ''The Horticulturist'' magazine (1846–5 ...
), and the elaborate Queen Anne Victorian home of Warren's son John, located across Cumberland Street from the mill.


Rail facilities

Cumberland Mills was served by the
Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad The Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad was a railroad planned to connect Portland, Maine to Ogdensburg, New York. The plan failed, and in 1880 the Vermont section was reorganized and leased by the Boston & Lowell Railroad. In 1886, the Maine and N ...
(later
Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad Company was a U. S. Class I railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had expanded to w ...
) and the Portland and Rochester Railroad (later
Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, B ...
). Horse-drawn wagons transferred
freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including transp ...
between the mill and the
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
s. The wagons rode on
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
rails after 1874.
Steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s replaced the horses in 1895. The first three locomotives weighed 7 tons each, and carried 200 gallons of water.Mason 1974 p.11 The locomotives were originally oil fueled; but were converted to burn coal after three employees died in an oil fire during refueling in 1921. Pulpwood was transported into the mill in 20-foot-long cars carrying 2 cords of pulpwood. There were 110 pulpwood cars in 1938 and the mill consumed 180 cords of pulpwood per day.
Narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
locomotives transferred 250 tons of coal per day to the mill boilers and transported ash from the boilers to a disposal pile. The mill also used
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
locomotives after spur tracks were extended onto the mill property. The last standard gauge locomotive was sold to the
Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad Company was a U. S. Class I railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had expanded to w ...
when
Portland Terminal Company The Portland Terminal Company was a terminal railroad notable for its control of switching (shunting) activity for the Maine Central Railroad (MEC) and Boston & Maine (B&M) railroads in the Maine cities of Portland, South Portland, and Westb ...
took over millyard switching work in 1929.Mason 1974 p.9 The last gauge locomotives were sold in 1949 after conveyor systems were constructed to transport materials formerly moved in narrow gauge cars.


Locomotives


See also

*
Cumberland and Oxford Canal The Cumberland and Oxford Canal was opened in 1832 to connect the largest lakes of southern Maine with the seaport of Portland, Maine. The canal followed the Presumpscot River from Sebago Lake through the towns of Standish, Windham, Gorham, and ...


Notes


References

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External links


The S. D. Warren Paper Mill Photographic Collection
NO LONGER VALID
Scott Paper to buy back $300 million in stock and reduce debt by $1.3 billion
{{Presumpscot River Industrial buildings and structures in Maine Pulp and paper mills in the United States 2 ft gauge railways in the United States Industrial railroads in the United States Pulp and paper industry in Maine Buildings and structures in Westbrook, Maine Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine National Register of Historic Places in Cumberland County, Maine 1730s establishments in Massachusetts