Hailing from Ottawa, Illinois, and spending his youth in Adams, Massachusetts, Frank D. Smith arrived in Holyoke in about 1873. After working in a union paper mill, he established his own business, the Smith Paper Company. The company and its subsequent partnerships, such as Smith & Wilson located in the Mosher Building, enjoyed periods of success and then failed in 1895.
In 1896, his fortunes changed when he partnered with W. H. Pryer and formed the Smith Tablet Company, which was named in 1897. The company produced pads, tablets, composition books, school papers, stenographers' books, special-ruled and folded papers, papeteries, binders, loose-leaf books, typewriter papers, etc., converting paper for use as stationery.
The shop operated in a building Mr. Pryer had constructed on Crescent Street in 1894. Mr. Pryer died in 1896, and Mr. Smith purchased his business interest. Since the mid-1890s, Smith Tablet Company continued to operate under a lease in this Crescent Street factory building.
In April 1904, Frank Smith died at age 51. The business continued manufacturing under the leadership of M. Lizzie (Frink) Smith, Mr. Smith's widow. The company was incorporated in 1905.
The factory building where Smith Tablet operated was sold in 1907 as B.F. Perkins Company was to occupy the entire building for its tissue factory. Smith Tablet Company purchased property on Winter Street to build upon and relocate. The Casper Ranger Company constructed the 60' x 90' three-story building, and the business began operating there in 1909.
In 1916, the business survived an assignment for the benefit of creditors. Its assets far outweighed its liabilities, and creditors were assured of payment.
In 1920, the Holyoke Superintendent of Schools resigned to take an executive position with the company.
In 1926, Smith Tablet Co. Inc. was sold to Hooper Paper Co. Inc. of Richmond, Virginia, relinquishing local control of the company and its destiny. Hooper Paper merged with Western Tablet & Stationery Co. the following year to become a significant worldwide writing tablet producer.
By 1930, the Smith Tablet Company had shut down production in Holyoke. The operations, including machinery and equipment, moved to Huntington, Pennsylvania, closer to the source of cheaper-grade papers that Smith Tablet used. The Holyoke facility would remain a warehouse for northeast distribution. Some of the fifty current employees would remain in the warehouse, and others would move to the 120,000-square-foot Pennsylvania facility.
KalMet Company operated at 54 Winter Street from 1936 until it moved to 102 Cabot Street in 1977. In August 1977, Laminated Papers Inc., owner of the 54 Winter Street building, secured a building permit to raze the three-story building to facilitate its expansion.
This is an installment of Away from the Canals, a series dedicated to manufacturers apart from Holyoke's famed canal system.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates are shown.
Holyoke Public Library, Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories.
History of Massachusetts Industries (Orra L. Stone), Chapter xxvii, p. 593 - Holyoke
View of the former Smith Tablet Co. factory building at 54 Winter St., Holyoke, MA
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