Gary R. Smith
Well-Known Member
Oregon City was established in 1844 by the Hudson Bay Company. It was the first city west of the Mississippi River to be incorporated and it marked the end of the Oregon Trail. The Willamette Falls Locks in West Linn were the first multi-lift navigational locks in the United States and are now a National Historical Site, no longer in use. The first long-distance electrical service in the United States originated in Oregon City in 1889, transmitting electricity 14 miles (23 km) to Portland.
Oregon City Mills was a flour mill in operation until 1880, where it was purchased and then later absorbed into the Portland Flour Mills Co. Portland Flour Mills Co. was successful and stayed in operation until 1907, when it was purchased by W. P. Hawley and converted back into a paper mill, becoming The Hawley Paper Company. In 1948, The Hawley Paper Company was sold to Publishers Paper Co, who then became Smurfit Newsprint Corp in 1986. In 1998, Smurfit acquired Stone Container Corporation and became Smurfit-Stone. This acquisition was expensive and to help alleviate debts, the paper division of the company was sold to KPS Special Situations Fund LF of New York and mill employees in 2000.
Under the title of Blue Heron Paper Company, production continued. By 2006, the company was completely employee owned and operated. In the years following the shift to employee ownership, Blue Heron's financial situation worsened. Prices for the paper waste needed to produce paper increased by 70 percent. This increase was widely attributed to overseas competition. In 2009, the company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In 2011, Blue Heron Paper Company permanently closed.
The original elevator used water pressure to lift the elevator car however the local population weren't excited by the fact that when the elevator was lifting local water pressure dropped.
Oregon City Mills was a flour mill in operation until 1880, where it was purchased and then later absorbed into the Portland Flour Mills Co. Portland Flour Mills Co. was successful and stayed in operation until 1907, when it was purchased by W. P. Hawley and converted back into a paper mill, becoming The Hawley Paper Company. In 1948, The Hawley Paper Company was sold to Publishers Paper Co, who then became Smurfit Newsprint Corp in 1986. In 1998, Smurfit acquired Stone Container Corporation and became Smurfit-Stone. This acquisition was expensive and to help alleviate debts, the paper division of the company was sold to KPS Special Situations Fund LF of New York and mill employees in 2000.
Under the title of Blue Heron Paper Company, production continued. By 2006, the company was completely employee owned and operated. In the years following the shift to employee ownership, Blue Heron's financial situation worsened. Prices for the paper waste needed to produce paper increased by 70 percent. This increase was widely attributed to overseas competition. In 2009, the company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In 2011, Blue Heron Paper Company permanently closed.
The original elevator used water pressure to lift the elevator car however the local population weren't excited by the fact that when the elevator was lifting local water pressure dropped.
Last edited:
