The Mills of East Angus
With William Angus’ acquisition of land and damming rights along the St. Francis River in the Township of Westbury, so were the beginnings of what would become the town of East Angus.
William Angus had already made his mark on the pulp and paper industry in the Eastern Townships as the co-founder of the mills in Windsor, by that time known as the Canada Paper Company. In 1882, however, he left his partnership with Thomas Logan and established a new company, William Angus & Co., in the dense forest of Westbury. Francis P. Buck, of Sherbrooke, was Angus’ partner in this new business venture.
Before long the company had established a pulp mill, which was accompanied by the building of a dam, sawmill, bridge, and a railway siding.
With the construction of the mill came also the settlement of the surrounding area, going from largely forest and farmland to a busy town of 600 in a decade and included 35 company houses which were rented to employees.
In 1891, the company was sold and became the Royal Pulp and Paper Company, which would be the first of many company transfers and restructurings. At this time, construction started on a new paper mill, which began production in 1892.
In 1896, the pulp mill was producing 45 to 50 tons of pulp each day and the newly renovated sawmill producing 25000 to 30000 feet of wood in a 10-hour work day.
The Royal Paper Mills Company employed 300 people in the mid-1890s, with half working in the mills and the other half working on the rivers, driving logs to supply the mills. In 1907, the East Angus paper mill, now owned by the Brompton Pulp & Paper Company, was renovated and became the first mill in North America to use the kraft process to make paper.
Beyond its importance in exporting goods from the Townships, the East Angus paper mill provided an important service locally in the first part of the 20th century as it printed special orders such as custom stationery and butcher paper for the businesses of the area.
With the shifting market demand for paper products and the changing economy, the East Angus mills went through a number of company reorganizations in the course of the century.
In 1930, Brompton Pulp & Paper fell under control of the St. Lawrence Corporation, which then became Domtar Limited in 1961 with the merger of three companies. In 1983, the mills were sold to Cascades and in 2014 it was announced that they would be closing their kraft paper plant after over a century of production. Today, the cardboard plant continues its operations under Graphic Packaging International.
In November, the ETRC ran an article on the pulp and paper mills of Brompton, which resulted in the donation of some wonderful photographs from mills as well as readers supplying us with additional information on its history.
Perhaps you may have some old documents or photographs relating to one of the topics we have featured, or connected to Townships history in another way. For more information on what options are available for making sure they are preserved for future generations, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
JodyRobinson,archivist 819-822-9600,ext.226
etrc2@ubishops.ca