18th Century America

The first papermill in the American colonies was built in 1690 by a German immigrant William Rittenhouse on the Wissahickon Creek in Pennsylvania.  During the next 150 years, over 500 mills were established in America to meet the paper production demands of the fledgling nation and its efforts for independence. Linen and cotton rags were protected by laws and were often in such short supply for papermaking that a watermark from a Massachusetts mill read “SAVE RAGS.” The paper produced included bank notes, books, artist’s papers, ream wrapping paper, document papers, and fine quality writing paper such as that used by founding father Robert Morris in correspondence just a few weeks before his signing of the U.S. Constitution.