Show historical FACTS the first paper ever manufactured la in salt lake city utah was on june 27 1854 by thomas hollis hollia and thomas howard some time previous to this the necessity of saving paper rags rage haj had been publicly advocated and some pounds had been taken to the tithing office and from these about forty pounds of paper was made by hand suitable eui table for handbills hand bills etc on the above date one sheet of this lot has been preserved and may now be seen at the deseret museum history records this fact that paper made in salt lake city in 1854 was the first paper ever made west of the missouri river As an soon as this was nol ed abroad and that paste boards could be hall bail in exchange for rags were there was no lack of material to supply the slow method of making paste boards and paper from such a crude process then at command president young had granted the above named men the free use of the old nail factory situated on city creek arter afterwards wards used as a molasses factory which contained a boiler and other machinery additions to which made by nathan davis constituted their papermaking paper making establishment they had the privilege of using the water power after it was w as needed by the public pu b works during the day so that their card boards and papermaking paper making had bad to tie done during the night or until 7 to in the morning prom from june until november they furnished the office with many hundred dollars worth of paper upon which was printed the NEWS edited by then ben by hon ellas elias smith there was a demand for all the paste boards they could make because of many uses they could be utilized for such as sun aun bonnet bonnet boxes etc about this time a change ta in the firm occurred mr thomas howard retired to his farm in mill creek and thomas hollis entered into partner ship with wm Jepp jeppson sou they re moved the machinery to centerville Cent erville and through mismanagement or otherwise little or no paper or car boards were afterwards manufactured the machinery was dispo disposed Fed ol of in fragments and the parties left for california nothing further was done until 1860 when machinery for the manufacture of paper was brought from the east in january 1861 president young called on thoe abos howard hovard to aid in the conversion of et a building known as a the sugar works into a paper factory suitable eul table for the imported machinery he was ably assisted by Z derrick sr machinist the factory was wag all fitted up in time for the first lot of paper to be manufactured by machinery on the of july 1861 when all was ready tor for a start president young with a number cumber of invited guests including heber C kimball daniel H wells joseph A young elias smith wm H hooper besides others with their ladies went down in a body to see the first lot of rags rage put into the milland were delighted to witness aalthe machinery work like a charm the first lt IA made was 10 reams of wrapping paper pacer and some brown paper aper total lbs second lot made 9 was 6 reams of paper lbs ibs third on sept 4 was 19 1 reams of news paper lbs ibe being the first ever made in utah by machinery thomas howard not only put up the mill but made all the paper from july 24 1861 to january 16 1863 which amounted to lbs ibe he to ie now iu his year nale and hearty and living in this city here we have in 1861 a paper factory costing several thousand dollars with a capacity for making 2000 lbs ibe of paper daily and no material on hand viz rage to run it 16 with the above figures showing the comparatively trifling inning quantities made at one time and then only occasionally rence hence the necessity ot of some kold hold extort being madeko made to wake up a more universal attention to the husbanding hus banding tf paper rags rage throughout the country to meet the emergency president young asked me if I 1 would accept as art a mission tor for the good of the community the gathering of paper rags from house to house bouse and advocate the necessity of fostering this home euter enterprise I 1 consented and for about three years my field ot of labor extended from franklin idaho in the north to san ban pete lu in the south including all inter mediate settlements to say that after being one of the leading merchants of salt lake city at oae time and the only auctioneer at another the gather ing of paper rags rage did not seem somewhat humiliating would be an injustice to human nature but duty belore pleasure being the mainspring of my past ifie hie I 1 conferred not with flesh land and blood but as an elder in the church of jesus christ I 1 gladly as slimed the comparatively menial employment and became almost universally known as the rag gatherer I 1 have the satis satisfaction to know that by my labors a foundation was laid for a large and thriving business being done in rags rage as an article of commerce and an immense amount of paper manufactured since the year 1861 As an an evidence of my earne earnestness in the prosecution of my labors my public 11 discourses were of a very ragged character and my hands and my head bead during the week being full of rage rag I 1 could not well divest myself of them on the sabbath day I 1 will here remark for the benefit of the young men in this community you know kaow not what lies before you but whatever labor you may be called upon to do by the servants of the lord do it with your whole might with a cheerful heart and the spirit or god will be with you to make the yoke easy and the burthen light such was my experience GEORGE |