Some businesses have been in existence for several decades and have made a lasting impression on our minds. Other companies have operated for almost three quarters of a century without much notice or fanfare. Such is the case with Craftmount Co., our topic today.
Gilbert A. MacDonald, the founder of the Craftmount Company, was born in Bishipton, Quebec, Canada, and educated in the West Springfield School System. He was employed by the Strathmore Paper Company for twenty-five years before embarking on his own business. Craftmount Co. started its operations in January 1945 in the Holyoke Supply Company Building, at 200 Race Street.
When the company began, it produced photomounts, which were sold nationwide through the Lockwood Envelope Specialties Company. In January 1949, Craftmount Company acquired a portion of Lockwood, and by 1951, it had purchased the entire company. Until the mid-1950s, the business focused on professional photographers, producing mats and picture folders.
In April 1957, Craftmount acquired the Marston-Warner Co. Inc., an engraving company located in the Rackliffe Building at 9 Suffolk Street. This added new facets to the Craftmount enterprise: engraved letterheads, embossing, and hot gold-leaf stamping.
In 1957, Craftmount negotiated with Livingston Worsted Mills to acquire the factory's Cornwall Building, which was located at 89 South Street. Livingston had collapsed its operations into its central plant and had no further use for the building. However, for Craftmount, it meant a quadrupling of its Race Street space from 7,500 square feet to 30,000 square feet. The Marston-Warner Co. also relocated to the South Street plant.
Additional paper converting was added. The company produced the Dennison money holder envelopes, specialty prints, and swatches. The latter was a growing part of the business. Customers included American Writing Paper Co., L.L. Brown Paper Company, Chemical Paper Mfg. Co., Marvellum, Strathmore Paper Co., and other local manufacturers. Another paper converting product was the photographic Christmas greeting folders.
Gilbert A. MacDonald died in late May 1958 at the age of 57. His spouse, Mildred J. MacDonald (later Roberts), operated the company until 1973. At that time, Craftmount employed about 150 people.
The company was sold to Mack Wallace of Longmeadow in 1973. His 29-year-old son, Donald Wallace, joined him in the new venture. The business was incorporated as The Craftmount Company Inc. on June 5, 1963.
Mack Wallace's grandfather, Andrew Wallace, founded the Forbes & Wallace Department Store chain. Mack Wallace's father had been the company Treasurer until he died in 1930. The entirety of the Wallace property on Longmeadow Street is presently the Bay Path College Campus. Deepwood Hall, the college's administration building, was the house where Mack Wallace was raised.
In 1992, Donald Wallace became the principal of the business, as his father had retired in 1990.
By 1995, photomount work was less than 25% of the company's business, down from 70% in 1957. The production of swatchbooks for paper companies to display samples of goods comprised 40-45% of Craftmount's business. Company sales increased 25% in 1995, mainly due to the swatchbook work. Adding gold leafing to print jobs was also popular, as was die cutting and scoring to facilitate easier folding of paper products.
The workforce had dwindled to twelve busy employees by 1995.
In 2017, Donald Wallace retired from the business. The real estate was sold in 2018, and the corporation was dissolved by the State of Massachusetts in 2019. The current status of the 89 South Street business site is unknown.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription), Price & Lee City Directories, Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Massachusetts Cultural Information and Research System (Macris), Massachusetts Historical Commission, Secretary of State's Office, Boston, Massachusetts
Registry of Deeds, Hampden County, Springfield, Massachusetts
Secretary of State, Corporation Division, Boston, Massachusetts
Craftmount's Business location, 89 South Street, Holyoke, MA (1957-2017)
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