Cottonwood Paper Mill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Cottonwood Paper Mill is an abandoned stone structure located at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon in the Salt Lake Valley. It was built in 1883 by the Deseret News under the direction of Henry Grow. Workers used paper making equipment brought in from the old Sugar House Paper Mill to grind logs from nearby canyons into pulp. Rags gathered from old clothes were also used to produce the pulp, which was then placed into molds and dried. During its operation, the mill could yield up to 5 tons of paper per day.
The mill provided jobs and paper for nearly ten years. But the completion of the railroad had made paper significantly cheaper to obtain. In 1892, the Cottonwood Paper Mill was sold to Granite Paper Mills Company. On April 1st, 1893, a fire broke out inside. Between its large stockpile of paper and the fact that many who heard the alarm thought it to be an April Fool's joke, the mill was destroyed, leaving only a stone skeleton.
The structure was partially rebuilt in 1927 for use as an open-air dance hall, known as the Old Mill Club, and remained so until the 1940's. It was also used in the 1980's and 1990's as a haunted house and a craft boutique. It was declared a historic site by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers in 1966, and was condemned by the city of Cottonwood Heights in 2005. The owners indicated in a 2006 newspaper interview that there are currently no future development plans for the structure.
The Cottonwood Paper Mill is also known as Granite Paper Mill, Deseret Paper Mill, Old Mill (a title shared by several newer buildings in the vicinity) and Haunted Old Mill.
[edit] External links
- Photograph, circa 1869 by C.R. Savage, from L. Tom Perry Special Collections @ BYU.
- Photograph, circa 1890 by C.R. Savage, from LDS Church History Library
- Recent photograph by Kenneth Mays, from Online Collections at BYU
- Location of the mill in Windows Live Local
- Location of the mill in Google Maps
- 1994 Article by Brandon Gillespie recounting some local folklore about the structure.
- Photo Gallery by Utah Ghost Research & Investigation with additional views of the mill.
- Scary Salt Lake Sites to Visit This Halloween by Steve Gehrke of the Daily Utah Chronicle, also mentions the fire(s) and the structures rumored hauntings.
[edit] References
- The Deseret News Company's Paper Mill, Deseret News, October 15th, 1884
- Burned to the Ground, Davis County Clipper, April 6th, 1893
- The Paper Mill, Deseret News, April 8th 1893
- Paper=Making in Utah, Salt Lake Tribune, August 14th 1898 (Includes sketches of the mill during operation, and in ruins.)
- Making Paper Early Industry, Raise in Price of Commodity Revives Interest in a Proposition Now Dead, Deseret Evening News, February 1st, 1908
- Old Mill Will Become Resort, The Ogden Standard Examiner, May 12th, 1927
- The Daughters of Utah Pioneers Meet at Historic Old Paper Mill, by Sarah Brockbank, Murray Eagle, June 30th 1932
- Cottonwood Stake Gold-Green Ball at Old Mill Club], The Murray Eagle, January 10th, 1935
- The Old Mill Club, The Finest in Entertainment Dancing, The Murray Eagle, June 27th, 1935
- Firemen Busy this Week, Murray Eagle, July 11th, 1935 - Mention of a fire at the Old Mill Club
- Old Mill Has Weathered Many Hardships Since 1881, Jack Goodman, Salt Lake Tribune, February 23rd, 1992 (requires logon)
- The Back Pages - Snapshots of Utah History..., Karen Dunlap, Salt Lake Tribune, September 9th, 2001
- Old Mill Lives On, by Judy Fahys, Salt Lake Tribune, June 29, 2006 (requires logon)
- Cottonwood Heights History from the city's official website, recounts the history of the mill.
- Deseret News Timeline, mentions the construction and destruction of the mill
- Rag Mission article by Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, regarding paper production in Utah.
- Old Clothes turned into paper, article by the Deseret News, discussing the use of the mill
- Utah History to Go article
- Photograph of DUP plaque, located on the building.
