The Crocker Manufacturing Company continued its pattern of growth and acquisition of the most up-to-date machinery and equipment to produce its paper products. By the end of 1885, the company was producing 4 tons of finished paper daily.
In February 1887, the company was impacted by the death of Daniel Putnam Crocker, the son of Samuel S. Crocker. Messrs. Samuel and Daniel Crocker arrived in Holyoke in 1871 and organized the Crocker Manufacturing Company; Samuel as President and Daniel as Treasurer and Agent. Samuel Crocker, who was 73 years old and living in Leominster in 1887, had retired from actively running the company, leaving day-to-day operations to his son, Daniel, and Daniel's brother, Clifton A. Crocker. Daniel Crocker was 46 years old at the time of his death.
Clifton A. Crocker was elected as the new Treasurer of the business. By 1890, the company's financial statement indicated $183,566 in assets, only $30,039 in debt, and a profit of $53,526 (about $2 million in 2026 dollars).
1890 was an eventful year for the Crocker Mfg. Co. In October, the company broke ground on a new 21-foot-by-52-foot, 2-story storage building. The company would also construct 2 additional floors to its existing mill building, making it a 4-story building. A new bleach boiler, weighing 5 tons, was ordered from Holyoke's D. P. Coghlan Co. The company needed a great deal of space to store its finished paper. A wooden building behind the plant would be razed, and an arch constructed to accommodate the new rail spur of the Holyoke-Westfield Railroad.
On October 16, 1890, Crocker Manufacturing Company purchased the Dickinson & Clark mill and operation, including unfulfilled orders. The purchase price was $62,000. Crocker Mfg. would take possession on October 20, 1890.
Hampden Paper Co. had built the mill in 1862, and later sold it to the Albion Paper Co. When Albion moved to its new mill, it sold its old mill to Crocker Mfg. in 1878. In 1880, Crocker sold the mill to Dickinson & Clark, and ten years later was buying it back.
Dickinson & Clark had 2 mill powers, 6 400-hp engines, a 62-inch Fourdrinier machine, and produced 5 tons of machine-finished and super-calendered book and engine-sized writing paper daily. The acquisition resulted in Crocker Mfg. Co. having 6 mill powers and a total production of 12 tons of paper daily. Dickinson & Clark would remain under the leadership of George S. Miller, and a decision to consolidate the plants was deferred to a later time. F.H. Barber was awarded the contract to build a 5-story building, 50 feet by 75 feet.
In 1891, the improvements continued with over $70,000 expended on new penstocks, wheel pits, and repairs to its mills. A 15- by 40-foot, 3-story finishing room was built, connecting the present finishing structure to the former wooden Dickinson & Clark building.
Some of the notable contractors who contributed to this massive undertaking under the direction of F. H. Barber were D. H. and A. B. Tower, civil engineers; G. L. Bosworth & Co., the stonework; D. F. Coghlan& Son, the penstock work; Lynch Brothers, the brickwork; Holyoke Machine Co., the gate fittings; and Daniel O'Connell & Son, excavation work. The wooden buildings were replaced with stone and masonry. New equipment was added. Upon completion, the company had one of the city's largest modern plants.
In 1895, the company continued to improve on its already successful operation. The company planned on connecting the rear buildings with a new 4-story building. The company was producing 10 tons of paper daily. In April 1895, M. E. Cummings was awarded the contract for the new $120,000 addition.
In 1899, Crocker Manufacturing Co. was sold for $500,000 to the newly formed American Writing Paper Co. (AWPCo). There were 17 mills involved in this acquisition, most of which were located in Holyoke.
The story of Crocker Manufacturing Co., a division of AWPCo, continues in the concluding chapter.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Genealogy Records and Price & Lee, Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
The Story of Holyoke, Wyatt Harper, 1973
Registry of Deeds, Hampden County, Springfield, Massachusetts
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