Taken
on 12/28/06
Ruins of
papermill waterworks dam (see 'Dam #1' on map below)
in Felts Mills
In 1889 the Taggart Paper Company
(also see the Taggart Paper Mill in Watertown ruins on
this page) with George Sherman and David Anderson erected a spacious
pulp and paper mill located on an island in the Black River, across from
Felts Mills. The Mill was called the "Island Mill" for obvious
reasons.
The buildings cover a large space at the foot of the
island, and the complex of mill buildings utilized nearly the whole island.
The main mill building was a single story and measured 168x68 feet.
The boilers themselves were large and double walled, and there were
incandescent lights throughout the whole complex, with hot air blowers
heating every room, and automatic sprinklers that could cover each room in
the mill.
The pulp mill and grinder sat on large masonry works, and the
side of the plume and the grinders were on large stone works and cement set
in what was once the bed of the Black River. The foundations were 29
and half feet high, the outside one being 12 foot thick at the base and 6
feet at the top. It was estimated that the mill had available 2000
horsepower in power from the Black River.
The paper machines could be
powered by steam engines (made at the Watertown Steam Engine Company -
see this page for photos of the WSEC's buildings)
that could power the dynamo, elevators, fire pump, etc.
The paper making
system included two Fourdrinier machines; each 120 feet long, six beating
engines, refining machines, and papermaking machines. The wood went in rough
wood and came out paper, all without any human touch in between.
There
was also a storeroom and finishing room with the railroad line that ran
between them. A spring of water half a mile away was piped down to the
mill in iron pipes.
The mill turned out 20 tons of pulp per day, paper
tonnage reached 10 tons per day but had the capacity of 36 tons per day. The
investment in the mill was $500,000.
The company also has a sawmill at
the head of the island with a capacity of sawing 10,000 feet of lumber per
day. Also, the company had a cheese box factory on the island, which
was leased out for others to run.
-From "The
Growth of a Century: As Illustrated in the History of Jefferson County; NY,
from 1793 to 1894" by John A. Haddock
For pictures from the island
itself and the remains of the other dam see this page.
 |
Taken on
12/28/06
Ruins of papermill waterworks dam in Felts Mills
Old photo of the mill as it looked when running.
The island the
mill was on had an area of about 8 acres, and was once called Tannery
Island, nearby is Sheep Island. Later Tannery Island was called Mill
Island when the Taggart mill was built. At one time the Mill Island
was owned by James Le Ray, and over the years had a number of sawmills, a
shingle mill, a planing mill, a carding mill, a grain thresher, a cheese box factory,
and in 1858 a tannery which burned in 1882.
For pictures from the island
itself and the remains of the other dam see this page.
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Taken
on 12/28/06
Ruins of papermill
dam in Felts Mills
You can also find more photos on Derek
Pearall's Facebook album, click here.
Kate
F. says: "The land that you see across the river is actually an island, which I
believe is abandoned. There used to be houses and a tannery and saw mill on it,
but the bridge that connected it to the main land was taken down not too long
ago. You can still see where the bridge was, and in fact on any map that you
look at, it shows the bridge."
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Taken on 12/28/06
Ruins of papermill buildings (see 'Building ruins' on map below) in Felts Mills.
There is also another picture below.
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Taken on 11/13/08
This is a long old uncontrolled spillway dam reaching from the northern shore of Black River
to the island (owned by Niagara Mohawk, Mill Island?) across from Felts Mills.
The dam is 468 feet in length, built by the Taggart Paper Company when they had
their mill on the island. The waste water flowed down the north channel of
Black River, and there the pulp timber was collected for the mill. This had a larger square of concrete at either end
(this picture was taken from the top of one). See 'Dam #2
on map below, right for location.
For pictures from the island
itself and remains of the other dam see this page. |
Taken on 11/13/08
A closer look at the dam, it looks like the wooden planks
that would have been across the top have long ago rotted or broken out.
Also, during the summer the water must have gotten high enough or strong enough
to push a rather large tree up onto the dam.
This can be accessed
by going down the dirt road across from the corner of Route 283 (Gray
Street, Black River) and 1st Street West (if you are coming from Route 3 and
pass over the bridge turn right). Go to where there seems to be a parking
area, with
barricades to the right, and a small trail straight ahead. Go to the left
(heading toward Fort Drum) and a short distance
in this direction the dirt road seems to turn or bear right as well as go
straight ahead on a smaller path. Go to the right, roughly following the
river. Watch for the dam on the right
a short distance down this road. When there are leaves on the trees it may be hard to
see through them to see the dam, there is a small pull-off on the right near
near it.
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