Barber Paper Mills
Barber Paper Mill along the Credit River on River Drive in 1900.
Each community within Halton Hills is historically synonymous with one industry or another, such as Acton’s link to leather, Limehouse with its quarrying or Norval’s connection to flour. But Georgetown also had an industry of fame, and that would be paper.
Dating back to the early 1820s, when Georgetown – then known as ‘Hungry Hollow’ – was first settled, the community’s founder George Kennedy took advantage of Silver Creek and the dense forest to set up a saw mill. It was also around this time when Kennedy’s brother, Charles, started a sawmill in an area named ‘Wildwood’ in the thick bush near Concession 8 and 20 Sideroad.
Soon to follow were fellow entrepreneurs who joined the Kennedy brothers in the pursuit of harnessing the power of the local waterways and turning it into modest profits. By 1837, the Barber brothers, Irish immigrants, purchased land from Kennedy in the area of Park Avenue and Mill Street along the banks of Silver Creek.
It was on that plot of land where they initially erected a woolen mill, iron foundry and a machine shop to service the needs of the village’s inhabitants.
As the settlement continued to grow, so did the industrial landscape with the introduction of more mills and factories, with one of those being a paper mill situated along the Credit River.
David Forbes, a Scotsman with an interest in papermaking, was attracted to Georgetown by the construction of the Grand Trunk Railway in the early 1850s and wished to set up a mill. Forbes negotiated with the Barbers who constructed a building for him and rented him both power and premises on the banks of the Credit. This was at the site on River Drive.
However, by 1854, Forbes found the enterprise too much to handle and handed the paper mill over to the Barbers. Initially, they produced “rag paper” from cotton and linen rags, then manufactured paper from oat, wheat, and rye straw for nearly a decade, when it was superseded by wood pulp in 1869.
The paper produced at the Barber Mill was used for books, newspapers, wallpaper and even for stationery products which supplied the Georgetown Envelope Company. At their height, the mill had an output of two-and-a-half tons of paper per day thus bringing the name of “Papertown” to Georgetown.
In 1888 paper mill owner John R. Barber needed more power to operate equipment and commissioned the Cleveland Brush Company of Ohio to construct a hydro-electric dynamo downstream from the mill, consisting of a 60 horsepower motor to power lights and a 100 hp generator for the equipment. This was the first long distance transmission of hydro electricity for manufacturing purposes in all of North America.
By 1905, the Barber Mill expanded operations with the construction of a coated paper mill near the train station at 1 Rosetta St. The new mill was created to apply a layer of coating to their paper products, making the surface smoother and better for writing and printing purposes.
Edward Fleck was the coated mill’s first superintendent and within five years, he went across the street to form the Georgetown Coated Paper Mill. Fleck’s plant was eventually owned by Domtar and later closed in 1977.
The Barber operations were sold to Provincial Paper in 1911, with the old mill closing in November 1948. The coating mill at 1 Rosetta St. would operate until shutting down for good in March 1991, marking the end of an era for Georgetown’s paper production industry.
Article written by Scott Brooks, with information from Dills Collection/Halton Sketches/Halton County Atlas of 1877/EHS/HHPL.
Dating back to the early 1820s, when Georgetown – then known as ‘Hungry Hollow’ – was first settled, the community’s founder George Kennedy took advantage of Silver Creek and the dense forest to set up a saw mill. It was also around this time when Kennedy’s brother, Charles, started a sawmill in an area named ‘Wildwood’ in the thick bush near Concession 8 and 20 Sideroad.
Soon to follow were fellow entrepreneurs who joined the Kennedy brothers in the pursuit of harnessing the power of the local waterways and turning it into modest profits. By 1837, the Barber brothers, Irish immigrants, purchased land from Kennedy in the area of Park Avenue and Mill Street along the banks of Silver Creek.
It was on that plot of land where they initially erected a woolen mill, iron foundry and a machine shop to service the needs of the village’s inhabitants.
As the settlement continued to grow, so did the industrial landscape with the introduction of more mills and factories, with one of those being a paper mill situated along the Credit River.
David Forbes, a Scotsman with an interest in papermaking, was attracted to Georgetown by the construction of the Grand Trunk Railway in the early 1850s and wished to set up a mill. Forbes negotiated with the Barbers who constructed a building for him and rented him both power and premises on the banks of the Credit. This was at the site on River Drive.
However, by 1854, Forbes found the enterprise too much to handle and handed the paper mill over to the Barbers. Initially, they produced “rag paper” from cotton and linen rags, then manufactured paper from oat, wheat, and rye straw for nearly a decade, when it was superseded by wood pulp in 1869.
The paper produced at the Barber Mill was used for books, newspapers, wallpaper and even for stationery products which supplied the Georgetown Envelope Company. At their height, the mill had an output of two-and-a-half tons of paper per day thus bringing the name of “Papertown” to Georgetown.
In 1888 paper mill owner John R. Barber needed more power to operate equipment and commissioned the Cleveland Brush Company of Ohio to construct a hydro-electric dynamo downstream from the mill, consisting of a 60 horsepower motor to power lights and a 100 hp generator for the equipment. This was the first long distance transmission of hydro electricity for manufacturing purposes in all of North America.
By 1905, the Barber Mill expanded operations with the construction of a coated paper mill near the train station at 1 Rosetta St. The new mill was created to apply a layer of coating to their paper products, making the surface smoother and better for writing and printing purposes.
Edward Fleck was the coated mill’s first superintendent and within five years, he went across the street to form the Georgetown Coated Paper Mill. Fleck’s plant was eventually owned by Domtar and later closed in 1977.
The Barber operations were sold to Provincial Paper in 1911, with the old mill closing in November 1948. The coating mill at 1 Rosetta St. would operate until shutting down for good in March 1991, marking the end of an era for Georgetown’s paper production industry.
Article written by Scott Brooks, with information from Dills Collection/Halton Sketches/Halton County Atlas of 1877/EHS/HHPL.