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Paper is a product that supports economies, communities and jobs – and the U.S. paper-making industry began right here in Philadelphia.
Almost 100 years before the nation was officially founded, German immigrant William Rittenhouse created the first U.S. paper mill in Germantown in 1690. (It was his descendant, astronomer David Rittenhouse who would lend the family name to Rittenhouse Square).
This business was important for the early Germantown ecosystem, said Steve Jones, interim executive director at Historic RittenhouseTown.
“There was a very lively press, there was a religious press that created liturgical materials, there were newspapers, and so on,” he said. “So, there was a lot of printing, paper making, journalism and book publishing going out and going on in the Germantown area.”
Rittenhouse started as an apprentice papermaker in Europe. He modeled his paper mill after operations in European mills he’d seen during that time.
“So family and extended family members of the Rittenhouses were among some of the other early paper makers, so there was a kind of a network of paper makers in the Philadelphia Germantown area that branched off of the original paper making site at historic RittenhouseTown,” Jones said.
Germantown also served as a prime spot for paper production – it was near a stream that would help create water power for the paper mill, and it had a linen industry that would lend itself well to early papermaking.
“The material that the paper was made from started with recycled clothes,” Jones said. “When linen clothes wore out, there were professional rag pickers whose job it was to collect those rags and then provide them to the paper makers to use as raw material for making the paper, so it was a really early example of recycling and repurposing in an industrial setting.”
The process was not easy, said Ava Haitz. She created a sculpture to commemorate this Philly first as part of the ongoing 52 week “firstival” celebration.
“[In my sculpture], I did a zoom in of the wheel to show that the water was how it was powered, and on top of it I drew the flax flowers, since that was a material that was in abundance that they used to make paper early on,” she said. “You can see someone sorting through the raw material, you can see people working with the pulp, people laying the sheets of paper to dry, and also kind of seeing that it’s a very labor-intensive and material-based process.”
Rittenhouse’s mill was the only one in America until his brother-in-law established his own mill in 1710.
“Eventually, other British colonies got the idea that they could also create paper,” Jones said.
This paper production continued ahead of the Revolutionary War.
Great Britain placed a tax on colonial commercial and legal newspapers, papers and pamphlets with the Stamp Act of 1765 – which was part of the colonies’ motivation to push toward self-reliance and independence, even with paper products.
Present-day evolution
Paper continued to evolve after the U.S. became its own nation. U.S. newspapers, paper towels, cardboard, toilet tissue and other products were all created by paper mills in Philadelphia and nationwide as the country grew.
Today, paper is used for everything from boxes in package deliveries to notebooks and journals for school supplies, office supplies and currency.
Jones explained the paper industry has changed drastically since its beginnings in the 1600s.
“I would say the two big differences are that it’s done on an immense industrial scale, and that these early paper-making businesses were really small family-run businesses for a long time,” he said. “Also, the material that they use today is very radically different and doesn’t quite have the same sustainability aspect to it that it had in colonial times.”
Jones emphasized that papermaking today is largely dependent on forestry, which raises concerns about the environment.
This Saturday’s firstival will celebrate Philly’s space as the home of the first U.S. paper mill – there will be a paper-making workshop, a demonstration of how the Rittenhouse family used to cook, and more.
It will take place on Saturday, June 27, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Historic RittenhouseTown on 208 Lincoln Drive.
And here is your full guide to all of this year’s firstivals – including where you can find this upcoming Saturday’s Firstival dates and location.
Completed
Week 1: Successful balloon flight in America (1793)
Week 2: The Mummers parade, the nation’s first folk parade (1901)
Week 3: Volunteer fire company (1736)
Week 4: Professional basketball league (1898)
Week 5: Public Girl Scout cookie sale (1932)
Week 6: African Methodist Episcopal congregation (1794)
Week 7: Abolitionist society in America (1775)
Week 8: Authentic Chinese gate built in America (1984)
Week 9: Public protest against slavery in America (1688)
Week 10: Flower Show (1829)
Week 11: Women’s medical college (1850)
Week 12: Matchbook (1892)
Week 13: Medical school (1765)
Week 14: Stadium (1895)
Week 15: Circus performance (1793)
Week 16: Botanical garden (1728)
Week 17: Postmaster (1737)
Week 18: American-made piano and sousaphone (1775 and 1893)
Week 19: Mother’s Day (1908)
Week 20: Hospital in America (1751)
Week 21: World’s Fair on American soil (1876)
Week 22: Steamboat for passengers and freight (1787)
Week 23: American flag (1777)
Week 24: U.S. Army (1775)
Week 25: Annual Reminder demonstration (1965)
Upcoming
• Paper maker in America (1690)
June 27, Rittenhouse Town, 6034 Wissahickon Ave.
• Bank of the United States (1791)
July 4, First Bank of the United States, 120 S. 3rd St.
• Organized baseball team (1831)
July 11 (location TBD)
• Ice cream soda (Oct. 1874)
July 18, Franklin Fountain, 116 Market St.
• American art school (1805)
July 25, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 118-128 N. Broad St.
• Scientific Society of Natural History (1812)
Aug. 1, at Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
• Zoo in America (1874)
Aug. 8, Philadelphia Zoo, 3400 W. Girard Ave.
• U.S. Mint (1793)
Aug. 15 (location TBD)
• Selfie (1839)
Aug. 22, Love Park, 1501 John F Kennedy Blvd.
• Slinky (1943)
Aug. 29, Philadelphia Art Museum, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
• Signing of the Constitution (1787)
Sept. 5, National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St.
• Continental Congress (1774)
Sept. 12 at Carpenters’ Hall, 320 Chestnut St.
• Naming of the United States (1776)
Sept. 19, Independence Hall
• Ronald McDonald House (1974)
Sept. 26, Ronald McDonald House, 3925 Chestnut St.
• Penitentiary in America (1829)
Oct. 3, Eastern State Penitentiary, 2027 Fairmount Ave.
• The First Peoples
Oct. 10, Penn Museum, 3260 South St.
• U.S. Navy and Marine Corps (1775)
Oct. 17, Arch Street Meeting House, 320 Arch St.
• Public showing of a motion picture (1870)
Oct. 24, Philadelphia Film Society, 1412 Chestnut St.
• Modern detective story written (1841)
Oct. 31, Edgar Allan Poe House, 532 N. 7th St.
• Thanksgiving Day parade in America (1920)
Nov. 7, Benjamin Franklin Parkway
• University in America (1740)
Nov. 14, Houston Hall, The University of Pennsylvania, 3417 Spruce St.
• Children’s hospital in America (1855)
Nov. 21, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Main Building, 3401 Civic Center Blvd.
• Pencil with an attached eraser (1858)
Nov. 28, National Liberty Museum, 321 Chestnut St.
• Weather bureau (1870)
Dec. 5, The Franklin Institute, 222 N. 20th St.
• Electronic computer (1945)
Dec. 12, The University of Pennsylvania, 3451 Walnut St.
• Public lending library in America (1731)
Dec. 19, The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust St.
• Philly food firsts: Cheesesteaks (1930s), water ice (1932) and bubble gum (1928)
Dec. 26, Reading Terminal Market, 1136 Arch St.
