The roots of the White & Wyckoff Manufacturing Company grew from the renamed Smith & White Manufacturing Company at the turn of the 20th century. Let's take a few moments to look back at the origins of this prominent paper converting firm and the backgrounds of its founders.
Frank D. Smith was born in Ottawa, Illinois, in 1852. When he was a boy, his family moved to Adams, Massachusetts. In 1873, he moved to Holyoke to work in the mills. He later opened his own company, naming it City Paper and Printing Company. After two years, he partnered with W. H. Wilson, and they operated in the Whitcomb Building.
In 1889, he formed a new partnership with Edward N. White under the name Smith & White. The company specialized in paper converting, manufacturing pads, and miscellaneous stationery.
Edward N. White was born in 1863 in Claremont, New Hampshire, and moved with his family to Worcester at the age of 5. After a year and a half of high school, he started work at the Prentiss Wire Mills in Holyoke at age 17. He steadily advanced in responsibility as the company's bookkeeper and paymaster during the 1880s. In 1889, he left Prentiss Wire to become a junior partner to Frank D. Smith in the Smith & White Co.
The company started out in a small space at 45 Race Street in what was called the Postal Card factory. There were 8 employees, a few machines, a power knife, and small hand tools. The company built an addition in 1890 to accommodate its growing business by doubling its capacity.
The business was incorporated as the Smith & White Manufacturing Company in November 1891. Frank D. Smith was the President, and Edward N. White was the Treasurer. The Director was Joseph Lewis Wyckoff. Mr. Wyckoff focused on the sales end of the business. The products manufactured included paper tablets, block pads, composition books, and other school supplies.
Joseph Lewis Wyckoff was born in Perry, New York, in 1864. He attended local schools and later graduated from a prep school in Ithaca, New York. He began his career working for Wyckoff & Tuttle, a harvesting machine business in Perry, N.Y. After three years, he left and was employed by the Perry Salt Company, where he remained for two years. He spent 19 months in New York City and, in 1891, relocated to Holyoke.
In late 1891, the Smith & White Manufacturing Company signed a lease to occupy the second and third floors, along with the basement of the Judd Paper Company building at 33 Race Street. The move was completed on December 1, 1891.
In August 1894, Frank D. Smith sold his stock in the company to Edward N. White and J. Lewis Wyckoff for $7,500.
Although Smith & White Manufacturing Company had close to 20,000 square feet of space, it was growing and needed additional space. Fortuitously, the neighboring property owner, Lemuel Sears, was erecting a new building designed by H. F. Kilborn of New York. Mr. Sears would use half of the ground floor for his business needs, and the remaining half, consisting of 14,000 square feet, would be for Smith & White's use. This new portion of the plant would connect to the existing Smith & White space. The expansion was completed in June 1895.
The company continued to outgrow its space, and in 1898, Holyoke Water Power Company sold the business land at Riverside, adjacent to the railroad tracks crossing the Connecticut River into Chicopee. In November 1898, the plant was constructed, and the company relocated from Race Street.
The story of the very successful White & Wyckoff Company will be explored in future writings, as will the significant civic and entrepreneurial contributions of both Messrs. White and Wyckoff.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Holyoke, Massachusetts (1895)
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
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