There are many occasions when the necessary elements of the paper-making process are not clearly discernible due to the terminology or process involved. One of the situations involves the Fourdrinier Machine. At one end of the machine, a slurry of pulp and water is poured onto a mesh screen that moves horizontally through several rollers, removing excess water from the pulp and forming a continuous sheet of paper. The paper is stored in rolls at the end of the process. An example of a 19th-century Fourdrinier Machine is shown in the third photo below.
The Buchanan & Bolt Wire Company was formed in 1878 to manufacture the wire mesh screens onto which the slurry was poured. The company was originally a partnership with Robert Buchanan, his son Andrew, John Bolt and J. N. Brown. Messrs. Buchanan and Bolt were employed by the DeWitt Wire Cloth Company of Belleville, New Jersey. Around 1876, the Buchanans were employed by the Morse & Whyte Company in Boston.
In 1878, the partnership was formed, and with the equipment purchased from Morse & Whyte, they relocated to Holyoke. The company rented space from the Farr-Alpaca Company between Cabot and Appleton Streets near the First Level Canal.
In addition to Fourdrinier mesh wires, the company manufactured cylinder molds, dandy rolls and brass, copper and iron wire cloth. Dandy rolls traveled over the wet slurry, squeezing out excess water. The company also designed watermarks and monograms. In 1884, the company employed 40 people.
The partnership was dissolved in 1887, when J. N. Brown left to form his own company. In 1891, Buchanan & Bolt purchased the Caleb Loud Papermill in Easthampton. In 1895, the company also acquired the Brooks and Craig mill, which was absorbed into its space. More looms were purchased to handle the additional work orders.
By 1894, the company had sold its dandy rolls to George C. Gill Paper Company, Parsons Paper Company No. 1 and 2 mills, Norman Paper Company, all of Holyoke, along with Kimberly-Clark and Gilbert Paper, both in Wisconsin, and Fall Mountain Paper Company in Bellows Falls, Vermont.
When Robert Buchanan died in 1894, and his son died 2 years later, the company was incorporated in January 1897, with John Bolt as President and Treasurer. In 1900, John Bolt retired, and Grace E. Buchanan, widow of Andrew Buchanan, was named President and their son, Robert, the Treasurer.
Land was purchased from the Holyoke Water Power Company (HWPCo) at the southwest corner of Appleton and Winter Streets in 1904. G. P. B. Alderman & Company drew the plans, and the Casper Ranger Construction Company erected the factory.
The building encompassed an area bounded by 35 by 250 feet. The company moved to the new location in August 1905 when its lease with Farr-Alpaca expired. The building skirted the sidewalk on both streets, maximizing its floor space. Two additions were constructed in 1914 and 1916.
By the late 1920s, the company employed 60. The company could not recover from the impact of the Great Depression and soon entered bankruptcy proceedings. In August 1933, a court-approved reorganization enabled the company to be acquired by the Sinclair Company, headed by Peter Sinclair. The Buchanan & Bolt name was dropped in favor of The Sinclair Company.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee, Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
Massachusetts Cultural Research & Information System, Boston, Massachusetts
History of Massachusetts Industries, Chapter XXVII- Holyoke, Orra L. Stone, 1930
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