TILESTON  HOLLINGSWORTH

864 River St, Hyde Park, MA

Tileston-Hollingsworth is the oldest surviving operating mill in North America. It was chartered in 1728 by the King of England. The original entrepreneurs included several subsequent signers of the Declaration of Independence. In order to encourage development of industry in general and papermaking in particular, the King of England granted the founders a "monopoly on the business of paper manufacturing in the Colonies forever." The Massachusetts Historical Society has the original charter documents, and the mill is on the national Register of Historic Places.  Tileston & Hollimgsworth  was a de-inking, book, printing and writing paper mill, making both folio and cut size sheets.  The mill was acquired by James River and shut down in the late 1980s.  When  Charles P. Klass Associates was doing a structural inspection for a rebuild in 1990, they discovered placement foundations for  water wheels with cornerstone dates in the early 1800s. The mill was subsequently acquired by Paul Magnell and Charlie Ward  in 1995 who currently operate it as Bay State Paper Co. 

There is a historical marker near the mill site in Hyde Park that reads as follows:

Tileston-Hollingsworth - 864 River St.

This is the longest continuously operating paper manufacturing site in the nation. A paper mill has been located here since 1773. In 1806, Tileston Hollingsworth (founded 1798) acquired the mill. Over the next two centuries, the internationally-known paper company built a huge complex along Hyde Park’s industrial corridor on the Neponset River. Among the factory’s innovations was a machine that made the widest paper available in the world at the time. In 1995, Bay State Paper Company located here, continuing the tradition.

Connoly Containers, Manayunk, PA was the second oldest surviving operating mill in North America when it shut down early last year. Georgia-Pacific acquired Connoly Containers and shut down the mill. The mill building is still standing on the Manayunk Canal at Green Lane, but the paper machines are mostly dismantled.

Story contributed by Charles P. Klass of Charles P. Klass Associates

 

Sources: The Boston Historical Society and Museum  

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