| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office.
PAPER MILL COMPLEX
During the 1890s, two paper manufactures, Norman Brokaw of Kaukauna and W.L. Edmonds of Appleton, identified the stretch of the Wisconsin River near Wausau as an ideal location for the construction of a new paper mill due the proximity of the powerful upper Wisconsin River for energy and plentiful lumber. The two settled on a location on the east bank of the river adjacent to the Five Mile Dam north of Wausau in the Town of Texas. In 1899, Brokaw and Edmonds formed the Wausau Paper Mills Company with significant investment from the Wausau Group. Construction of the mill began in July of 1899 and was completed eight months later at the cost of $400,000 and began production within another month. The mill, the second along the Wisconsin River, was one of the largest in Wisconsin when completed.
The existence of the new paper mill led to the construction and development of a company town, named Brokaw after one of the two founders of the mill, adjacent to it. The first houses were ready by the end of November of 1899, before the mill was completed. Soon there were forty single family homes and one boarding house with rooms for single men to rent. However, not all of the initial 175 employees of the Wausau Paper Mill Company lived in Brokaw; some commuted on the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway’s “scud” train daily from Wausau.
The Village of Brokaw was incorporated in 1903, and work began that same year on a Methodist church, school, clubhouse, and general store in the village, all operated by the Wausau Paper Mills Company. Many of the workers and their families were Austrian, Polish, and Italian immigrants and spent much of their lives in the confines of the small village largely isolated.
While not having a hand in the development of the Wausau Paper Mill, the Wausau Group led by Alexander Stewart and Walter Alexander, slowly gained control over the successful mill through their investment in the company. By 1906, the president of the Wausau Paper Mills Company was Walter Alexander; the Vice President was C.C. Yawkey; and the secretary was W.L. Edmonds. Two other large paper mills were constructed in the Marathon County in the following years with significant investment from the Wausau Group. The extant Marathon Paper Mill in Rothschild was completed in 1909, and the extant Wausau Sulphate Fibre Company Mill, also known as Mosinee Papers, was completed in Mosinee in 1910.
In 1912, a flood washed away the Brokaw mill’s timber dam. In 1914, the mill nearly burned to the ground following a fire in the wood room and grinding plant. The cumulative effect of these events, led to practically rebuilding the facility. Much of the mill, with the exception of the grinding room and wood room, was rebuilt with brick masonry walls and a steel structural system by the early 1920s. A number of additional outbuildings were constructed to the northwest of the mill, towards the village, that decade. A new concrete dam was completed in 1923.
As the nearest fire pump at the time of the 1914 fire was in Wausau, this event encouraged the formation of a volunteer fire department in Brokaw and an increase in other basic services, which included the opening of a doctor’s office. The population of Brokaw rose to its highest point in 1930 with 500 inhabitants. Two saloons in Brokaw closed during this period because of prohibition.
The following depression years of the 1930s were difficult as the Wausau Paper Mill remained open for only two full days a week while paying the same wages. The company made no improvements to the houses, some of which still lacked indoor plumbing. Families often made such improvements and additions themselves.
The mill’s concrete dam and hydro-electric works were destroyed by flooding in 1938. In 1941, the mill itself was damaged by major flooding that altered the path of the adjacent Wisconsin River, almost bringing an end to the use of the mill. Much of the mill was significantly repaired following these events. The head race, original grinding room, and wood room were replaced and a major addition was constructed to the northwest side of the mill.
In 1948, the Wausau Paper Mill Company sold the houses in Brokaw after failing to raise rents. The homes were sold to the oldest occupants of the houses for approximately $800 to $1,000. The company store was destroyed by fire that same year and was quickly replaced with a new one which also served as the paper mill offices and post office.
A period of stagnation and isolation ended for Brokaw in the 1950s with higher wages and increased development. In 1951, a new library opened. Several new businesses were established in the 1950s. In 1958, the Wausau Paper Mill Company underwent a series of mill expansions costing $4.25 million over three years and adding 175 new jobs. Aerial photography after this period show a drastically changed paper mill facility. The machine rooms and finishing rooms were rebuilt and expanded, and a series of warehouse/storage buildings were completed along the western end of the mill.
In 1967, a bridge was constructed over the Wisconsin River near the village. In 1969, the first bank was opened in Brokaw. However, by the 1980s, the company store and school had closed. By 1984, there were 250 people living in Brokaw, almost all employed at the paper mill.
During the late twentieth century, a waste water treatment facility was constructed on infilled land along the Wisconsin River immediately west pf the paper mill. Additions were constructed onto the mill in 1969, 1986, 1988, 1993, and 1995.
In 1997, the Wausau Paper Mills Company merged with the Mosinee Paper Corporation, formally the Wausau Sulphate Fibre Company, under the name of Wausau Paper. From 1997 to 2006, a portion of land west, across the Wisconsin River from the village was annexed and developed as a business park and a housing subdivision.
Wisconsin Papers shut down the paper mill in 2012. The mill complex was purchased the following year by Niagara Worldwide LLC, which in turn sold the mill to TerX Shredding and Recycling Company. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Adventures in Paperland. Brokaw, WI: Wausau Paper Mills Company, 1958.
“Brokaw History,” Village of Brokaw website. <villageofbrokaw.com/brokaw_history.htm>
Clark, James I. The Wisconsin Pulp and Paper Industry. Madison, Wisconsin: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1956, Pages 3-7.
Howard, Phil. A History of the Wisconsin Paper Industry 1848-1948. Chicago: Howard Publishing Company, 1948, Pages 4-7.
Hunter, Dard. Papermaking: the History and Technique of an Ancient Craft. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1947.
Klueter, Howard R. and James J. Lorence. Woodlot and Ballot Box: Marathon County in Twentieth Century. Wausau, WI: Marathon County Historical Society, 1977.
Kronenwetter, Michael. The Story of Wausau and Marathon County. Midland, MI: Pendell Publishing Company, 1984.
Marchetti, Louis. A History of Marathon County, Wisconsin. Chicago, IL: Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., 1913.
Papers of David Clark Everest, 1883-1955. On file at the Wisconsin Historical Society Archives.
Papers of Joseph E. George, 1891-1949. On file at the Wisconsin Historical Society Archives.
Rosholt, Malcolm. A Photo Album of Marathon County, 1850-1925. Rosholt, WI: Rosholt House Publishing, 1978.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, Wausau – 1904, 1912, 1923, 1939, 1950, 1954, 1961, 1963 & 1967.
Schleif, Thomas and Sally Young. A History of Paper Making in the Northern Wisconsin River Valley. Wausau, WI: Marathon County Historical Museum, 1984.
Wyatt, Barbara (ed.). “Pulp and Paper Production.” Cultural Resource Management in Wisconsin: Volume 1. Madison, Wisconsin: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1986, Pages Industry 6-1 - 6-9.
60th Year: Artisans of Fine Paper. Brokaw, WI: Wausau Paper Mills Company, 1960. |
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