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NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



with four rag machines and an 84-inch Fourdrinier machine. 

 This mill made newspaper only and had a capacity of three tons 

 per day. From these small beginnings have grown up the exten- 

 sive paper industries of Black river. 



As already stated, the first manufacturing industry in the 

 village of Watertown was the primitive gristmill built by 

 Jonathan Cowan in 1802. This was the forerunner of extensive 

 flouring mills at this place later on. The Bailey & Clark and 

 Coffeen mills, of small capacity, were both built at some date 

 previous to 1812, but it was not until 1835 that Joseph Sheldon 

 and Philo C. Moulton built the Union mills, with a capacity of 

 200 barrels of flour per day. The Excelsior flour mills were 

 erected by Moulton & Simons in 1845. This mill is now operated 

 by the A. H. Herrick & Son Company, incorporated in 1895 with 

 a capital of $50,000 by A. H. and E. W. Herrick and George G. 

 Lee. This mill has a capacity of 100 barrels of wheat flour and 

 100 barrels of buckwheat per day. The Jefferson flour mills were 

 erected in 1855 and operated until about 1880, when the prop- 

 erty was sold to Knowlton Brothers and converted into a pulp 

 mill. The Crescent flour mills were built by Fuller, Isdell & 

 Willard in 1870 and succeeded the old Phoenix mill of earlier 

 years, which was carried away by the flood of 1869. Crescent 

 mill now has 19 stands of rolls, a daily capacity of 200 barrels 

 of flour. The Electric mill, built in 1895, is operated by electrical 

 power derived from wheels of Taggart Brothers Company. It is 

 used exclusively for grinding feed, and has a capacity of 250 

 barrels per day. 



In the early days of Watertown several tanneries were operated, 

 the first industry of this character having been established in 

 1808, in which year C. McKnight set up a saddle and harness 

 business and prepared and tanned his own leather. Jason Fair- 

 banks established an extensive tannery in 1823, although he had 

 done tanning on a small scale for several years previous thereto. 

 Holt & Beecher established a tannery at some date previous to 

 1830, which remained in operation until carried away by the 

 flood of 1856. Several other tanneries were started at different 



