Property Record
135 N COMMERCIAL ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Neenah Paper Company Complex |
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| Other Name: | PATTEN PAPER COMPANY |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 61680 |
| Location (Address): | 135 N COMMERCIAL ST |
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| County: | Winnebago |
| City: | Neenah |
| Township/Village: | |
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| Year Built: | 1885 |
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| Additions: | C. 1893 1926C. 1940 |
| Survey Date: | 20042019 |
| Historic Use: | mill |
| Architectural Style: | Spanish/Mediterranean Styles |
| Structural System: | Concrete Beam |
| Wall Material: | Stone - Unspecified |
| Architect: | A.C. Eschweiller |
| Other Buildings On Site: | Y |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
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| 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, Division of Historic Preservation. The property was last surveyed in 1999 with a map code of 7/15 on a Fox Canal Survey map. This building was erected on the site of the company's original paper mill, which was begun in 1874 and known as the Patten Paper Company. In 1885, the mill was reorganized as the Neenah Paper Company and, in 1893, the Kimberly family purchased the mill and it subsequently became part of the Kimberly-Clark paper company empire (while still retaining the Neenah Paper Company name). In 1926, this structure was built to house the executive and general offices of the company. Fox River Valley Industrial Survey The Patton Paper Company was established in 1874 and located at 135 North Commercial Street in Neenah. In 1885, the mill was reorganized as the Neenah Paper Company and was purchased by members of the Kimberly-Clark Company’s ownership in 1893. Though the small paper company complex was effectively a part of the growing Kimberly-Clark paper empire, it retained its name as the Neenah Paper Company, specializing in cotton bond and bleached writing paper. The main office of the small mill was constructed in 1926 in the Mediterranean Revival style and designed by the Milwaukee architecture firm of Eschweiler and Eschweiler. In 1956, when the company employed 340 people, it officially became a division of the Kimberly-Clark Corporation. The Neenah Paper Company Complex is significant under Criterion A: History in the area of Industry for its role in the Neenah paper industry. The period of significance for the property would extend from 1885 to 1956. The proposed Neenah Paper Company Complex is a cluster of buildings situated near the center of the City of Neenah and has boundaries roughly delineated by North Commercial Street and the Neenah Channel of the Fox River. The complex began during the 1880s and was developed over the next half-century as a small paper mill. The proposed complex consists of a part of the legal parcel at 135 North Commercial Street associated with the contributing resources of the complex. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Neenah Citizen 10/31/1997. "City of Neenah Intensive Survey Report," 11. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |