Ruins of the Close Paper Mill, 1875
Dublin Core
Description
About twenty men stand in and around the ruins of the Close Paper Mill. A lone smokestack stands tall in the center of the photograph; collapsed stone, wooden planks, and destroyed boilers lay in piles around its base. Coral Mills can be seen standing behind the ruins.
The Iowa City Paper Mill, also known as the Close Paper Mill, was built in 1865 as a way to capitalize on grain straw. Instead of burning the straw, it was decided to make paper from it. The company employed about fifty people, and used four thousand tons of straw yearly. Open both day and night, the mill had the capacity of nine tons of paper per twenty-four hours. The mill operated seven boilers and six water wheels to supply power to the machinery. In 1870, the water power was owned by the paper mill.
The night of July 23, 1875, the paper mill was destroyed by an explosion. One of the boilers, No. 3, shot about 500 feet above the building and fell back into the river, setting off other tanks. Six employees were killed by the blast, their bodies flung a hundred feet or more away from the mill.
This tragedy greatly impacted the Coralville town of 297, as well as the entire county (Lovetinsky et al., p. 13-14; Iowa City Press-Citizen, 1931).
The Iowa City Paper Mill, also known as the Close Paper Mill, was built in 1865 as a way to capitalize on grain straw. Instead of burning the straw, it was decided to make paper from it. The company employed about fifty people, and used four thousand tons of straw yearly. Open both day and night, the mill had the capacity of nine tons of paper per twenty-four hours. The mill operated seven boilers and six water wheels to supply power to the machinery. In 1870, the water power was owned by the paper mill.
The night of July 23, 1875, the paper mill was destroyed by an explosion. One of the boilers, No. 3, shot about 500 feet above the building and fell back into the river, setting off other tanks. Six employees were killed by the blast, their bodies flung a hundred feet or more away from the mill.
This tragedy greatly impacted the Coralville town of 297, as well as the entire county (Lovetinsky et al., p. 13-14; Iowa City Press-Citizen, 1931).
Creator
Mr. James
Source
Publisher
Coralville Public Library. Coralville Digital History Library.
Date
July 1875
Contributor
Rights
Educational use only, no other permissions given.
Format
jpeg
Type
Coverage
Coralville, Iowa
Collection
Citation
Mr. James, “Ruins of the Close Paper Mill, 1875,” Coralville Digital History Library, accessed April 25, 2024, https://coralvilledigitalhistory.omeka.net/items/show/219.
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