Island Mill

Island Mill. LaChute Riverwalk. , Ticonderoga Pulp and Paper Company enjoyed such success that, after just eight years of operation, they were able to build a second mill, capable of doubling production. The new Island Mill got its name from its location on the large island between Spencer Creek and the main stream., The extensive brick mill consisted of paper machine and finishing buildings running parallel to the River with the beater room forming the bottom of an "L" along the main street. A clock tower made a' visual link between the structures. The Island Mill produced fine paper for books on two new paper machines., In 1906, a new penstock, drawing its water from the "upper dam” upstream from the Montcalm Street bridge, increased the volume of water available to the mill as well as the "head” or height of the water stack. By then, International Paper owned the Glens Falls Pulp Mill on the upper river. Twenty years later, International Paper Company would buy out Ticonderoga Pulp and Paper Company and control all but one of the waterpower sites on the River., Main Image: Beaters mix wood fiber into paper pulp. These massive Bertram Beaters replaced earlier vats as new systems of cooking and stirring paper pulp came along. , Bottom Left Photo: The new plant drew water for power as well as for pulp-making through the Island Mill Gatehouse (at left). D. M. Amold, a civil, mining and hydraulic engineer, proposed this solution for harnessing LaChute's waters in his 1884 survey of the site. The "trunk" or pipe would bypass the whirlpool at the bend in the River and deliver a head height of 25.5 feet to the surface of the pond above the lower falls., Bottom Center Photo: Construction of the Island Mill in 1891 brought about a series of changes on the Island. The foundry and machine shop owned by William Hooper and Company, which had produced ore concentrating machinery, became the mill's machine shop. A file works gave way to the new flumes., Bottom Right Photo: Stacks of pulpwood await their transformation into fine paper pulp in this elbow of the River. Rail spurs cone in from the right, allowing rail cars to unload next to the grinding room. All images courtesy of the Ticonderoga Historical Society