In 1728, the General Court of the Province of Massachusetts Bay passed an “Act for the Encouragement of Making Paper,” and gave the exclusive rights to such an operation to a group of businessmen, including Thomas Hancock (uncle of John, the famed signer of the Declaration of Independence). They rented an old mill on the Neponset River in the Boston suburb of Milton and by 1730 were able to show their first samples to the General Court. Very little is known of this mill in its early years, except that it operated intermittently, even, at one point, relying on a British soldier to secure a furlough to make paper. Pioneer papermakers Jeremiah Smith and James Boies ran the operation from about 1741 through 1769. Papermaking then, as it is still at Crane & Company, was primarily a family business. In 1769, Smith sold his interest to his son-in-law, Milton shipping magnate Daniel Vose. Vose, who likely had no real knowledge of the business, brought in two other partners: a man named Lewis, about whom we know nothing, and 35-year-old Stephen Crane. In 1770, the three partners, in obvious sympathy with the mood of the Colonies and in keeping with their own fiery patriotism, formed the Liberty Paper Mill. Stephen Crane’s ancestors had settled in Milton in about 1648, and by 1770 he was surrounded by family, all of whom apparently shared his lust for American freedom. Two of his cousins, Abijah and John, took part in the Boston Tea Party and dozens of Crane men, Stephen included, fought in the Revolutionary War. The Liberty Paper Mill kept a busy trade until 1793, as demonstrated in the mill’s ledger, now housed at the Crane Museum of Papermaking. The list of customers reads like a who’s who of Boston-area printers, publishers, businessmen, and patriots. The mill supplied paper upon which it can be surmised are printed many revolutionary publications and other documents, including the radical anti-British newspaper, The Boston Gazette and Country Journal, published by Benjamin Edes and John Gill. Edes and Gill also printed a run of Massachusetts currency in June 1776, which may have been printed on paper made at the Liberty Mill. We do know that the Liberty Mill made paper for at least one version of Massachusetts currency, called “Sword in Hand” notes, which were engraved and printed by Paul Revere between August 18, 1775, and November 17, 1776.  We lose track of Stephen Crane's family from the time of his death, in 1778, until 1793. In that year, Stephen Crane Jr. appears several towns north of Milton, in Newton Lower Falls. Stephen Jr. is now in partnership with two Boston merchants, a landowner and a mill owner, in a new paper mill, this time on the banks of the Charles River. According to local historical accounts, Stephen Jr. joined the consortium as a papermaker, the other partners supplying money, land, and waterpower. Stephen Jr.’s connection with the Newton mill ended after just about a year, though, when he liquidated his interests.  It is logical to assume that Stephen Jr. apprenticed at his father’s mill while his father was alive and may have taken over his father’s interest in the operation from 1778 to 1793. His brothers Luther and Nathan probably did as well. The youngest brother, Zenas, was just over one when his father died, but was sixteen when Stephen Jr. took on the Newton mill, so he may have learned the rudiments of his future trade at both establishments. In eighteenth century America, it was customary for boys to pursue a trade. We can assume that Zenas chose to follow in his father’s and his brothers' footsteps, because the next time we can locate him, he has traveled to the town of Sutton, just outside Worcester. Published historical accounts have him working there in a paper mill owned by Gen. Caleb Burbank. The mill was constructed and operated by one of Zenas's father’s former customers and fellow patriots, Isaiah Thomas. Thomas, a Boston printer, published material promoting the interests of freedom from the British. Among Thomas’s suppliers of paper was Stephen Crane’s Liberty Paper Mill in Milton. As his business and political influence grew, Thomas’s house and print shop became the not-so-secret meeting place of many radical revolutionaries, earning the building a title: The Sedition Foundry. It is easily conceivable that young, patriotic Cranes spent considerable time there in the company of Paul Revere, John Hancock, and Sam Adams. As the British grip on Boston grew, the Massachusetts Bay Committee of Safety recognized the importance of establishing Thomas’s printing operation in a more secure location. On the night of April 16, 1775, the press and type were ferried across the Charles River and from there conveyed to Sutton. Three days later, Thomas passed unscathed out of Boston and reached Lexington in time to help the Provincial Militia repel the British in the Revolution’s first battle. He was joined at Lexington and Concord by Pvt. Stephen Crane. Later that month, a convention of delegates from the towns of Worcester County resolved that “the erection of a paper mill in this county would be of great public advantage.” Abijah Burbank decided to take them up on the offer. As recounted in 1886 Proceedings of the Worcester Society of Antiquity, Burbank built his mill on Singletary Lake and produced his first paper in 1776. But it was not until May 1778 that Burbank informed the public “that the manufacture at Sutton is now carried on to great perfection.” Evidence that Burbank struggled to perfect his craft lies in the ledger of the Liberty Paper Mill, which show scores of reams of paper being sold to Thomas (in Sutton) during 1775 and 1776. Burbank was also reported to be plagued by a scarcity of rags. Perhaps Messrs. Vose, Lewis & Crane were partially responsible for Burbank’s slow start, as Thomas paid in Sutton rags. The Burbank mill eventually gained its footing, with Thomas as a good customer. Even with full production from the Burbank two-vat mill, Thomas’s demand exceeded supply, so he built his own mill in 1793. It is likely that young Zenas Crane made the trek to Sutton to join his father’s compatriot soon after Stephen Jr. sold his interest in the Newton Mill. And it is not too far a stretch to consider that Zenas might have been hired in a responsible position, as he probably already had plenty of papermaking experience under his belt. Zenas stayed at the mill for several years. Thomas’s printing business had taken on huge proportions by the late 1790s. It may have been the pressure of this business that caused him, in February 1798, to sell his paper mill to Burbank's sons, Caleb and Elijah. As a result, Zenas soon got restless. Perhaps with the new owners he had little chance for advancement; perhaps he just had a case of entrepreneurial zeal. Whatever the case, in the summer of 1799, Zenas set off in hopes of starting his own mill. When twenty-two-year-old Zenas Crane set off, he must have been awash with conflicting emotions regarding his future. Even at such an early age, we can assume that Zenas was a master papermaker, having spent his entire life involved in the trade. Zenas knew what he needed: sufficient year-round water power to drive his machinery, the cleanest water possible to wash rags and make paper, a reliable source of rags for raw material, and a sizable market in need of paper. By 1799, the papermaking field to the north, south, and east of Sutton was well occupied; westward was the logical direction. So in the summer of that year, Zenas headed that way on horseback, most likely traveling the historic corridor that is now Route 20. He probably knew that in the fifty or so miles between Worcester and Springfield there was little to recommend siting a new paper mill. And when he arrived in the Connecticut River Valley, he encountered a mill that had been operated by Elezer Wright in Springfield since about 1789. With that discovery, Zenas decided to push farther west. We can surmise that Zenas continued west along Route 20, taking a look at the possibilities of the Westfield River. He probably concluded that the small towns in the area could not meet his need for raw materials and customers. So Pittsfield and the Housatonic River were his next targets. We can imagine Zenas encountering the Housatonic in Lee, and pondering its various attributes and shortcomings, both literally and figuratively testing the waters. It is from here that Zenas chose to head upstream, perhaps recognizing that the Housatonic held great promise, but wanting to find the perfect location. He undoubtedly took a long and careful look at Pittsfield, as it was the region's center of population and commerce. During his visit, Zenas most likely met with Phineas Allen, the owner and publisher of the Pittsfield Sun, one of two newspapers serving the county. Zenas was probably courted by local officials who, twenty years previously, had instructed their representatives in Boston “to use their best endeavors that any petition which may be preferred from this town, or from any individual of it respecting the erection of a Papermill in this town be attended to and espoused by you in General Court.” And Zenas undoubtedly learned that Allen could be an excellent customer of his new enterprise, as the publisher was importing paper from other regions and even from overseas. By the time he reached Pittsfield, Zenas knew the pieces of his puzzle were coming together. According to historical accounts, the Pittsfield water situation, both in terms of power and purity, would not work. Upstream a few miles, in the town of Dalton, there might be better opportunities. Zenas's first night in Dalton was spent at the Marsh Tavern, an easy stroll to a stretch of the Housatonic that was a papermaker’s dream. The fall of the water was sufficient not only to power a modest mill but also to allow for future expansion. Water rights and riverfront acreage were available at reasonable prices. The last remaining factor sealed the deal for Zenas: the abundance and purity of the water flowing from underground springs all along the river. Even without a rudimentary knowledge of chemistry, Zenas knew pure water: he could taste it. One can envision Zenas pondering his good fortune during his stay at the Marsh Tavern, but he had to face some realities of business, and here is where many questions arise whose answers must remain for future research. We have no records of Zenas’s activities from the time he left Dalton, presumably in the fall of 1799, until February 1801, when he and his partners took out an advertisement in the Pittsfield Sun. Did Zenas have a job waiting for him upon his return to Worcester? Did he return to papermaking with the Burbank family or did Isaiah Thomas employ him in his printing business? Did Zenas pay for his trip west with accumulated savings, or did he have a partner or two already? Did Zenas return to Worcester for a year and a half or did he head back home to Newton Lower Falls to be with his brother and his family? We have only a couple of clues. One of Zenas’s two original partners in Dalton was Henry Wiswall. Henry was just a year older than Zenas and, like him, grew up in Newton Lower Falls in a papermaking family. One can conclude that Zenas and Henry were friends during their childhood. When it came time for Zenas to begin construction of his mill in Dalton, Henry went with him, presumably offering papermaking expertise and much-needed capital. With this in mind, one could easily believe that Zenas repaired to Newton Lower Falls rather than Worcester in late 1799. We do know, though, that Zenas spent a good deal of time between 1799 and 1801 in Dalton, possibly staying with a local family for long periods of time, as we find his name in the 1800 census of the Town of Dalton. On February 8, 1801, the Pittsfield Sun published an advertisement calling for the ladies of the area to save their rags, as in the ensuing spring three gentlemen were “in contemplation to erect a paper mill in Dalton. And the business being very beneficial to the community at large, they flatter themselves that they shall meet with due encouragement.” The three entrepreneurs set out to build their paper mill, a modest one by then-current standards. It was a two-story, one-vat mill capable of producing about 120 pounds of paper per day. We are uncertain when the mill was completed, but by the time the land's owner, Martin Chamberlin, finally drew up a deed for the sale of the property on Christmas Day, 1801, it indicated that along with fourteen acres and water rights, there was already a paper mill on the property. Best estimates for what such a mill would cost to construct suggest an outlay of about $3,000. The largest bill, amounting to about half the total investment, would have been for the waterwheel that powered the beaters. As far as working capital goes, Zenas and his partners would have needed somewhere around $6,000 to cover inventories of paper, raw materials, and long-term credit. No records exist that would give us solid information about the very first years of this new mill. However, we know that by 1809 as many as fourteen people were employed. Key workers were the vat man and the coucher. Both earned $3.50 a week. The beater engineer received $3. A layboy or helper was paid 60 cents a week plus board. We do not know how much Zenas allowed himself at the outset; a few years later, he was paid $9 a week. While we do not know exactly who Zenas Crane’s early customers were, we can surmise that Phineas Allen at the Pittsfield Sun was his earliest and best. In the Crane Museum of Papermaking is a copy of the Sun from 1802, undoubtedly printed on paper made with Zenas’s original mould, which hangs alongside. Allen, in addition to publishing the Sun, kept his presses busy doing the bulk of the printing for the central Berkshire area. He now had a ready supply of paper to meet his many needs. Zenas and his partners operated what was to become known as the “Old Mill” until 1807, when Zenas sold his interest to Wiswall and opened a store in the eastern part of town. No records exist to tell us why he left papermaking. Perhaps he envisioned greater prosperity as a storeowner, or maybe the partnership just was not working out. Zenas would return to papermaking later. We can pick up the story of papermaking in Dalton on August 17, 1809, which is the first dated entry of the ledger book from the firm of Carson & Chamberlin. David Carson, who learned papermaking in Worcester at the Burbank mill, had recently arrived in Dalton. He evidently had some money in his pocket, because he was to be a partner with Martin Chamberlin in both the Old Mill (also known as the Old Berkshire Mill) and the New Mill (later to be known as the Old Red Mill) at the same time. From then until December 30, 1809, the Old Mill was owned and operated by a host of interlocking partnerships. Ledger entries indicate ownership by Carson & Chamberlin, Wiswall & Gilbert, and Wiswall & Carson. The mill appears to have been shut down from January 1 to February 24, 1810, when it goes back on line under the ownership of Wiswall & Co. The ownership picture gets really interesting when, on April 4, 1810, an entry in the ledger states: “Mr. Crane took possession of the Old Mill on the 4th of this month,” an event not reported in previous histories of Crane & Co. Just five days later, another entry states: "Zenas Crane took possession of the New Mill the 9th of this month.” It appears that Zenas operated both mills for only a short time, as the ledger indicates that the Old Mill came under the ownership of Wiswall & Carson on April 11, 1811. It would undergo more ownership changes for a number of years before the Crane family would again bring it under its wing. Meanwhile, it appears that Zenas was operating the New Mill from 1810 to the next ledger entry in 1817, when we are told the mill is being run by Crane & [William] Cole. Zenas seemed to prefer the practice of interlocking partnerships, as the New Mill operated in this fashion from 1817 until 1825, when it appears that he took sole possession of the operation. Partnerships during that period included: Crane & Cole; Marsh & Crane; Crane, Cole & Chamberlin; and Crane & Chamberlin. From 1817 to 1820, the two-vat New Mill hummed along, with between fifteen and twenty employees, making a variety of printing, writing, and wrapping papers. Mill records are lost for 1818 and 1819 (for Crane, Cole & Chamberlin) but in December 1820, Zenas’s distinctive handwriting appears for the first time on the ledger pages. Sometime in 1820, Zenas’s older brother, Stephen Jr., died. With Zenas’s first ledger entry, we see the first indication of what was to become a constant theme throughout the company’s history. Working for Zenas, in a senior position at the mill, was 23-year-old Charles Crane, son of Stephen Jr. Also working in the mill is Lucretia Bassett of Dalton, the first of many members of the Bassett family to work with the Cranes. Charles and Lucretia married within two years. Crane & Company was truly a family business now. It is also interesting to speculate about who “Z.” Crane is in the mill’s time book, which kept track of actual production by employee. By 1820, the first Zenas is already forty-three years old and running a very busy business. By then, Stephen Jr.’s son and Charles’s brother—also named Zenas—is eighteen. In February 1822, there is a ledger note saying: “Zenas Crane made 29 reams.” There is no doubt that this was not the daily output of the founder; rather it indicates that the younger Zenas was his uncle’s vat man for quite some time, as he was in Dalton long enough to marry Lucretia Bassett’s sister, Rebecca, in 1832. More family members soon joined the operation. In 1824, we see the arrival of Luther and Nathan Crane, also Stephen Jr.’s sons, and Emeline, Nathan’s daughter. Soon after, Zenas's own son was now old enough to join the family business: in 1828 thirteen-year-old Zenas Marshall Crane began work at the New Mill. One can imagine the comfort the founder must have felt having members of his family operating the mill as he constantly traded off his production duties for those of purchaser of raw materials and seller of paper. As the demand for paper continued to increase, the paper industry began to grow and mature in the Northeast, and Zenas and his counterparts were constantly seeking high-quality rags and competing for new customers. Not long after Zenas took over the New Mill the population of Berkshire County was unable to provide sufficient household rags from which to make paper. Already there were new mills operating in Lee; the area around Albany, New York; and in nearby Vermont and New Hampshire. Wagonloads of rags were constantly arriving in Dalton (and would continue to do so until the railroad found its way to the area). As early as 1811, Zenas had begun relying on large garment manufacturers from the major metropolitan areas to furnish rags. In that year, Zenas contacted a dealer in New York who shipped rags to Dalton up the Hudson River to Troy by packet boat. Eventually, scraps from textile mills would come to Dalton all the way from Ireland and other European nations. The major metropolitan areas also proved vital for sales of papers, especially among larger printing houses and newly formed paper merchants. Among the best prospects for Zenas’s papers were banks, many of which issued their own banknotes prior to the nationalization of United States currency in 1862. (Crane continues to make the paper for United States currency to this day.) Many early banknotes in the Northeast United States were printed on the thin, yet durable linen and cotton stock produced at the New Mill. Boston also proved to be a valuable market, despite several competitors in the area. Crane papers were used for quite some time for executive proclamations and state documents. Crane’s high-quality rag paper was much in demand in the growing nation and, at the close of the 1820s, the company was considering entering another exciting era—the machine age—which would provide new opportunities and new challenges for Zenas and his descendents. Being a pioneer papermaker and one who traveled quite extensively in support of his business, Zenas must have heard early on of two developments overseas that were destined to change the paper industry forever. In France, Nicolas Louis Robert was managing a large papermill owned by St. Leger Didot when he conceived the idea of making paper in a continuous sheet. He obtained a patent in 1799, which was transferred to Didot. John Gamble, Didot's brother-in-law, became interested and took out a patent in England, where he and Didot entered into a financial arrangement with British stationers Henry and Sealy Fourdrinier. The first machine was quite rudimentary. It was greatly improved upon by machinist Bryan Donkin, who made the first new machine in 1808. At the same time, John Dickinson, also of England, invented and patented a cylinder covered with a wire cloth. The cylinder revolved in a pulp-filled vat and, by suction, the pulp was made to adhere to the cloth until the sheet was formed and transferred to a felt. Neither of these machines took hold in the United States for several years, nor would their original inventors benefit from their creations. Daniel Gilpin, owner of a famous mill in Wilmington, Delaware, had long experimented with a papermaking machine, and in 1816, he patented a version of the cylinder machine. It was put into operation in his mill the next year. By 1820, several Philadelphia newspapers were being printed on Gilpin’s machine-made paper. News of his machine traveled fast. Gilpin tried to keep the workings of his machine a secret, but because it was patented, it was subject to study and others made variations and improvements. One such entrepreneurial family was composed of David Ames and his sons, David Jr. and John, of Springfield, Massachusetts. John was generally accepted as a mechanical genius in the early paper industry. The Ameses reportedly hired a Gilpin foreman to help build a new cylinder machine, and were able to patent their machine in 1822. But skullduggery has a price. The firm of Howard & Lathrop, which had a mill in nearby South Hadley, Massachusetts, reportedly hired an Ames foreman and built and put into operation their own cylinder machine. They then began building cylinders for other paper manufacturers, including Zenas Crane. During the summer of 1831, the Old Red Mill was making paper by hand faster than it ever had before, with more than forty employees at work. This level of activity was necessary to accommodate a significant downtime to install a new paper machine. Crane’s ledger book indicates that the cylinder machine came on line October 25, 1831. It appears that Zenas also kept his handmade operation going as he and his employees tuned up the machine so that its products would be acceptable. In March 1832, there was a huge spike in both the volume of paper made and the varieties made, indicating that the paper machine was achieving its potential. Prior to installation of the machine, the mill made only two or three kinds of paper per month. By the spring of 1832, output had more than doubled. The change in operations was also reflected in where people worked. On the papermaking side, employment was cut in half; in the finishing room, the number of workers remained about the same, but their productivity skyrocketed. As the machine matured throughout the early 1830s, the mill was first churning out music paper, temperance paper, telegraph paper, wrapper paper, post office paper, tobacco paper, various writing papers, and “hot” paper (paper pressed between hot metal sheets or rollers to achieve a smoother finish for printing). Toward the mid-1830s, the mill began making the first versions of paper that would make it famous and for which it is widely known today: colored writing papers. The first color was blue, with pink added next.  In 1842, Zenas Crane left the active management of the business, having given partnerships to his sons Zenas Marshall Crane and James Brewer Crane in 1836. It was under their direction, but undoubtedly with Zenas paying close attention, that the Old Stone Mill was built in 1844. Installed within its walls was a new Fourdrinier machine. The era of handmade paper had passed, but the practice of this ancient craft established the credentials for quality that would serve the company well for generations to come.