Iroquois Pulp & Paper

I tend to write these blog posts by the seat of my pants. I rarely have an idea of what I am going to write about before I come to work on a Thursday evening. That's probably why some posts are awesome & some are mediocre at best.

Anyway, as I began searching through the beautiful clutter that is this historians office, without a clue what tidbit would present itself to me, I came across the ephemera from the bicentennial, sesquicentennial, and centennial celebrations. As I was carefully thumbing though the items, I found myself leafing through the Village of Greenwich Centennial Program from Summer 1809. On the back cover, I spotted the most amazing image. It took me a moment to realize, truly see what I was staring at.

The image of the Iroquois Pulp and Paper Co. in Thomson startled me. The mill is laid out along the Hudson River. Northumberland is in the foreground siting along the Saratoga County side of the river. When you look closely, you can see the Champlain canal and the island it created. Behind the factory, are the mill houses, and just to the right of the water tower is the large white cupola of the big Victorian. But what is most shocking to me is the openness. The miles and miles of treeless fields. Now it is very wooded and overgrown.

Iroquois Pulp & Paper, manufacturers of hanging papers c.1809

I wonder if I could get a photograph now from a similar vantage point, maybe on Stark's Knob?

Introducing... Greenwich, NY

Let's get something out of the way right now... For those of you reading who may not be from Upstate NY, it is pronounced 'green-witch', not 'gren-itch'. We don't know why. It just is. The school mascot, yep, you guessed it, a green witch... the Greenwich Witches. The symbol on the town letterhead... a green witch. We've embraced it. It's been this way since 1803.

Moving on... Nestled in the crook of the Hudson and Battenkill Rivers, our little town (and village of the same name) is beautiful, almost idyllic. Greenwich has been the home of some famous Americans, who will be mentioned in this blog, but I will also touch on the history of everyday life. I'm sure there will be sensational stories from time to time... So, keep checking back for a taste of small town history.