Stillwater Mills and Manufacturing

Stillwater Mills and Manufacturing. . , This location holds most of Stillwater's rich manufacturing and production history. The mills and factories once located here employed residents of years past, helping to secure Stillwater as a major industrial hub in Saratoga County on the scenic Hudson River and Champlain Canal., Location , Access to the river as a transportation and trade corridor and the availability of waterpower made the Village of Stillwater an ideal place for early settlers to live and establish industry. Gristmills predated the American Revolution, but after the completion of the Champlain Canal in 1823 Stillwater flourished as an industrial center. It was home to pulp and paper, board, textile, knitting, and hosiery mills., A Timeline of Mills and Factories , The William and Daniel Pemble brothers opened the Pemble Mill, a straw board factory, in 1866 which was located at the current Block House site. They eventually purchased the Cunningham Brothers Shoddy Mill, turning it into a leather board mill. The Saratoga Knitting Mills were built by Ephraim Newland in 1873, and were owned and operated by the Rial and Henry Newland brothers and by William Dennison, Saratoga Knitting manufactured "Ladies' and Gents' Knit Underwear" Rial and Henry built what are known as the Twin Houses in Stillwater. In 1887 this mill town was home to E.B. Skinner and Company Knitting Mill, Mosher and Judd Manila Paper Factory, D&W Pemble Straw Board Manufacturers, Dennison and Company Knitting Mill, and the R&H Newland Mill known as Saratoga Knitting., Tragedy , This booming canal community was struck with devastating losses during a great fire on Sunday June 26, 1904. A Mechanicville Saturday Mercury newspaper article dated July 2, 1904 stated, "Two mills of Saratoga Knitting, house and saloon of M.J. Joyce, plant of Hudson Valley Times, dwelling of F.E. Rencourt, barn of Daniel Wetsel (across the river), and 3 carloads of strawboard at the R&H Newland Mill were destroyed. The Pemble Mill was the only other major employer damaged." Attempts to rebuild were immediate and this eventually became the site of the U.S. Shirt and Collar Company in 1905. In 1925 the Stillwater Fiber Mill was built, later known as the Stillwater Tissue Factory which ran both buildings., Closings and Aftermath , The Saratoga Knitting Mill closed in 1965 due to economic reasons followed soon after by the closing of the majority of the other mills. Many fell into disrepair. The two mill buildings that remain are currently used for other business., [photo captions] , Mill Workers Workers outside the Saratoga Knitting Mill. There were two separate mills: the Newland Mill and the Denison Mill. This mill was destroyed by fire on June 26, 1904., Mill Invoice Manufacturer's Shipping Invoice, , United Shirt and Collar Company The United Shirt and Collar Company was located north of the Saratoga Knitting Mills and made disposable collars. The mill closed in the 1930s. , After the Fire The Saratoga Knitting Mill after the disastrous blaze on June 26, 1904. , Straw Board Established in 1866, the Pemble Mill manufactured straw board, a course cardboard made of straw averaging 12 to 15 tons of board a week in 1873., Collars in the Making Workers inside the United Shirt and Collar Company with the supervisor, Frank Moore, on the left.