West Virginia pulp and paper company

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The son of a master paper maker in Aberdeen, Scotland, William Luke, arrived in American in 1852. Together, Luke and his sons John and David developed the first commercially successful method of manufacturing chemical wood pulp in this country. In 1887, under the auspices of the newly established Piedmont Pulp and Paper Company, the Lukes opened a paper mill on the West Virginia- Maryland border along the Potomac River. The company held its first stockholders meeting in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia on October 27, 1888. Ten years later, the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company was officially incorporated after the Luke family enterprise had grown to consist of three mills, two in West Virginia and one in Maryland. Subsequent mergers with papermakers in Tyrone, Pennsylvania and Williamsburg, Virginia expanded operations. By 1910 the company had begun devoting resources toward the acquisition of timber rich lands and the scientific study of cultivating pines and hardwoods. Located on a five hundred acre site along the west bank of the Cooper River, the West Virginia Pulp and Paper mill at Charleston went into operation in July of 1937. In addition to the manufacture of bleached paperboard, the Charleston mill was also a hub for research and development focusing primarily on the chemistry and engineering of pulping and bleaching, the development of tall oil, lignin, and activated carbon products, and process control systems.

From the description of West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company South Carolina mill records, 1937-2000. (The South Carolina Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 741158548

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Selekman, Benjamin M. (Benjamin Morris), 1893-1962,. Records of various labor union negotiation hearings, 1947-1952 (inclusive). Harvard Business School, Knowledge and Library Services/Baker Library
referencedIn Cushman, Helen Baker. Business papers, 1853-1992. Hagley Museum & Library
referencedIn Beall, Lester, 1903-1969. Lester Beall papers, 1911-1984 (inclusive), 1933-1969 (bulk) RIT Library, Wallace Library
creatorOf West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company. West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company records, 1884-1974. Cornell University Library
referencedIn John Jacob Scherer Papers, 1931-1959 David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
creatorOf American Type Founders Company. Donald R. Fleming printing arts ephemera collection. UC Berkeley Libraries
referencedIn Maxwell Copelof arbitration files, ca. 1940-ca. 1970. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
referencedIn Koons, Irvin L., 1922-. Irv Koons Papers 1946-1996 (bulk 1955-1985). Hagley Museum & Library
creatorOf West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company. West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company South Carolina mill records, 1937-2000. South Carolina Historical Society
referencedIn Wilmington Trust Company. Trust Dept. Records, 1909-1959 (bulk 1931-1954). Hagley Museum & Library
creatorOf West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company records, 1884-1974. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
referencedIn International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Local 776 (Charleston, S.C.). Records, 1938-1953. Duke University Libraries, Duke University Library; Perkins Library
referencedIn Feinberg, I. Robert (Irving Robert), 1912-1975. Series 1.General arbitration case files, part b, 1946-1975. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Copelof, Maxwell, 1879-. Papers, 1940-1954 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
creatorOf West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company. [Pamphlets. Financial history.]. Yale University Library
referencedIn Copelof, Maxwell, 1897-. Arbitration files, ca. 1940-ca. 1970. Cornell University Library
referencedIn West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company logging photographs, 1927-1931. James Madison University Libraries
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Beall, Lester, 1903-1969. person
associatedWith Copelof, Maxwell. person
associatedWith Copelof, Maxwell, 1897- person
associatedWith Cushman, Helen Baker. person
associatedWith Feinberg, I. Robert (Irving Robert), 1912-1975. person
associatedWith International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Local 776 (Charleston, S.C.) corporateBody
associatedWith Koons, Irvin L., 1922-. person
associatedWith Scherer, John Jacob, 1881-1956 person
associatedWith Wilmington Trust Company. Trust Dept. corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
West Virginia
West Virginia
South Carolina
Subject
Actions and defenses
Actions and defenses
Athletic clubs
Corporations
Corporations
Employee
Employees
Industrial management
Industrial management
Industrial relations
Industrial relations
Industry
Paper industry
Paper industry
Paper industry workers
Paper industry workers
Papermaking
Papermaking
Paper mills
Paper mills
Personnel management
Personnel management
Pulp mills
Pulp mills
Water
Water
Occupation
Activity

Corporate Body

Active 1884

Active 1974

Americans

English

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SNAC ID: 13681015