Roberts Paper Mill

Roberts Paper Mill. . , On this site stood the Roberts Paper Mill, a prominent example of a thriving industry in Waltham in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. One can see the prosperity that the mills generated by visiting Gore Place, Main Street in Waltham. Gore Place was the home of Christopher Gore, who operated another mill in Waltham. , The first mill on this site was built by Nathan Upham in 1802. After a succession of owners, the mill was purchased by Stephen Roberts of Waltham in 1834, whose family made a success of the undertaking. Fire destroyed the original mill in 1840. , The Roberts Paper Mill was constructed shortly after the 1840 fire and featured handsome bronze rubble-stone masonry with corner stone quoins and a pitched slate roof. Portions of the original foundation and masonry remain visible along the edge of the brook, as do fragments of the original dam on Stony Brook., The Roberts Company was the first in this country to manufacture tarred paper for building purposes. Asbestos paper and fine-grade hardware paper were also produced here. Under a variety of ownerships, the mill continued to manufacture paper until well into the twentieth century.