The Beebe & Holbrook Paper Company continued to produce fine writing papers during the late 1800s. Financial pressures in the paper industry would impact many of Holyoke's paper companies toward the end of the century. This installment focuses on the years when Beebe & Holbrook operated independently before the takeover by the American Writing Paper Company.
In March 1886, the 10-year-old Connecticut River Pulp Company Mill building was readied for removal to make way for the expansion of the Beebe & Holbrook Paper Company. The pulp company was situated south of the Beebe & Holbrook plant.
On June 1, 1886, work began on the $70,000 expansion of the Beebe & Holbrook mill.
The 120-foot smokestack was removed in early June. Daniel O'Connell's Sons, with its workforce of 90, performed the excavation work for the penstock installation. The penstocks were to run under the Wauregan Paper Company mill, the mill yards, and under the Beebe & Holbrook addition.
D. F. Coghlan of Holyoke would perform the iron penstock installation. The penstock course was 260 feet in length, and the pipe's diameter was 7 feet.
Here are some of the major contractors performing the 1886 mill expansion:
Architects & Daily Supervision- D. H. & A. B. Tower
Excavations- Daniel O'Connell
Stonework- G. L. Bosworth & Co.
Brick Work- Lynch Brothers
Carpentry- H. E. Taft of South Hadley
Lumber Supplier- D. D. Johnson
Painting- Dean & Wheelock
Slate Work- A. H. Ryan
Iron Work- D. F. Coghlan
Major Additions & Projects:
274-foot-long extension along the Second Level Canal
First 128 feet- 50 feet wide and 3 stories (Machine Room with a new 80" wide Fourdrinier machine)
Final 146 feet- 50 feet wide and 4 stories (Finishing Room with 3 newCalendars made by Holyoke Machine Co.)
New 30" Hercules Turbine Wheel (Holyoke Machine Co.)
New Elevators
New Bleach Boiler & Steam Boiler (D. F. Coghlan)
4 New Rag Engines
New 120-foot chimney
New Boiler Room (38 by 26 feet)
New Wheel House (30 by 16 feet)
New Office Building (North Bigelow Street- 30 by 40 feet)
Counting Room (27 by 16 feet)
In August 1887, George Holbrook married Ellen Beebe, the daughter of the late Jared Beebe. Messrs. Beebe and Holbrook were the company's co-founders.
In 1888, Augustine W. Esleeck was identified as the corporate treasurer. Mr. Esleeck had arrived in Holyoke around 1871, at age 24, to take a bookkeeping position at the Valley Paper Company. He was appointed treasurer in 1878, a position he held for 10 years before moving on to the Beebe & Holbrook Paper Company.
Also in 1888, the Coburn Trolley Track Co. installed tracks in some of the mill space to deliver equipment, including calendar rolls.
In late1889, the Loft Paper Manufacturers Council held a meeting at the Massasoit Building in Springfield. The meeting was held by area papermakers to discuss restoring prices for paper goods and disposing of excess inventory without adversely impacting prices. The council agreed to more extended holiday shutdowns to curtail production, limit supply, and maintain prices.
In May 1890, the company was awarded a contract to supply ledger paper to the government printing office. In 1892, additional contracts were awarded for glazed paper and artificial parchment paper.
In 1893, Casper Ranger Construction Co. demolished the old stock house and replaced it with a new 54-by-90-foot stock house.
More work came Casper Ranger's way when, in 1894, his company excavated and constructed a new 3-story addition measuring 60 by 130 feet. This brick building was erected south of the office and boiler room and faced the Massasoit Paper Co. mill.
In 1899, the Beebe & Holbrook Paper Company was one of many paper-making companies that became divisions of the American Writing Paper Company (AWPC). A list of 27 manufacturing companies is shown in one of the last photos displayed below. There were reports of 33 businesses under the AWPC family of divisions.
The Massasoit Paper Company was merged with the adjacent Beebe & Holbrook Paper Co., and the two companies had a combined capacity to produce 15 million pounds of paper annually. The neighboring Wauregan Paper Company also became part of the Beebe Holbrook division.
The Beebe & Holbrook division continued to produce paper until shortly after 1927. The American Writing Paper Company spent $500,000 renovating the plant at that time. For several years thereafter, the plant was utilized as an experimental center for Eagle A Paper. William McCorkindale also used the plant to develop a special grade of handmade paper. In 1933, rumors circulated that the plant would reopen after being shut down for 3 years.
The Beebe & Holbrook division of the American Writing Paper Company continued to appear in Holyoke City Directories through 1939.
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 Holyoke, Massachusetts City Directories
Massachusetts Cultural Research Information System, Boston, Massachusetts
Photo Credit: Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information Center
