{"id":228268,"date":"2026-06-25T22:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T22:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/228268\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T22:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T22:52:10","slug":"philly-was-the-first-home-for-u-s-papermaking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/228268\/","title":{"rendered":"Philly was the first home for U.S. papermaking"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love Philly? So do we. Let\u2019s be friends.\u00a0Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Paper is a product <\/a>that supports economies, communities and jobs \u2013 and the U.S. paper-making industry began right here in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

Almost 100 years before the nation was officially founded, German immigrant William Rittenhouse created the first U.S. paper mill in Germantown in 1690<\/a>. (It was his descendant, astronomer David Rittenhouse who would lend the family name to Rittenhouse Square<\/a>).<\/p>\n

This business was important for the early Germantown ecosystem, said Steve Jones, interim executive director at Historic RittenhouseTown.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a very lively press, there was a religious press that created liturgical materials, there were newspapers, and so on,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, there was a lot of printing, paper making, journalism and book publishing going out and going on in the Germantown area.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rittenhouse started as an apprentice papermaker in Europe. He modeled his paper mill after operations in European mills<\/a> he\u2019d seen during that time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo family and extended family members of the Rittenhouses were among some of the other early paper makers, so there was a kind of a network of paper makers in the Philadelphia Germantown area that branched off of the original paper making site at historic RittenhouseTown,\u201d Jones said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Germantown also served as a prime spot for paper production<\/a> \u2013 it was near a stream that would help create water power for the paper mill, and it had a linen industry that would lend itself well to early papermaking.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe material that the paper was made from started with recycled clothes,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWhen linen clothes wore out, there were professional rag pickers whose job it was to collect those rags and then provide them to the paper makers to use as raw material for making the paper, so it was a really early example of recycling and repurposing in an industrial setting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The process was not easy, said Ava Haitz. She created a sculpture to commemorate this Philly first as part of the ongoing 52 week \u201cfirstival\u201d celebration<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201c[In my sculpture], I did a zoom in of the wheel to show that the water was how it was powered, and on top of it I drew the flax flowers, since that was a material that was in abundance that they used to make paper early on,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can see someone sorting through the raw material, you can see people working with the pulp, people laying the sheets of paper to dry, and also kind of seeing that it\u2019s a very labor-intensive and material-based process.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Ava Haitz stands next to her firstival statue (Nick Kariuki\/Billy Penn) <\/p>\n

Rittenhouse\u2019s mill was the only one in America<\/a> until his brother-in-law established his own mill in 1710.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEventually, other British colonies got the idea that they could also create paper,\u201d Jones said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This paper production continued ahead of the Revolutionary War.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Great Britain placed a tax on colonial commercial and legal newspapers, papers and pamphlets with the Stamp Act of 1765 \u2013 which was part of the colonies\u2019<\/a> motivation to push toward self-reliance and independence, even with paper products.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Present-day evolution\u00a0<\/p>\n

Paper continued to evolve<\/a> after the U.S. became its own nation. U.S. newspapers, paper towels, cardboard, toilet tissue and other products were all created by paper mills in Philadelphia and nationwide as the country grew.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today, paper is used<\/a> for everything from boxes in package deliveries to notebooks and journals for school supplies, office supplies and currency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jones explained the paper industry has changed drastically since its beginnings in the 1600s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say the two big differences are that it\u2019s done on an immense industrial scale, and that these early paper-making businesses were really small family-run businesses for a long time,\u201d he said. \u201cAlso, the material that they use today is very radically different and doesn\u2019t quite have the same sustainability aspect to it that it had in colonial times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones emphasized that papermaking today is largely dependent on forestry, which raises concerns about the environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This Saturday\u2019s firstival will celebrate Philly\u2019s space as the home of the first U.S. paper mill \u2013 there will be a paper-making workshop, a demonstration of how the Rittenhouse family used to cook, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It will take place on Saturday, June 27, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Historic RittenhouseTown on 208 Lincoln Drive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And here is your full guide to all of this year\u2019s firstivals \u2013 including where you can find this upcoming Saturday\u2019s Firstival dates and location.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Completed<\/p>\n

Week 1: \u00a0Successful balloon flight in America (1793)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 2: The Mummers parade, the nation\u2019s first folk parade (1901)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 3: Volunteer fire company (1736)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 4: Professional basketball league (1898)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 5: Public Girl Scout cookie sale (1932)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 6: African Methodist Episcopal congregation (1794)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 7: Abolitionist society in America<\/a> (1775)<\/p>\n

Week 8: Authentic Chinese gate built in America<\/a> (1984)<\/p>\n

Week 9: Public protest against slavery in America<\/a> (1688)<\/p>\n

Week 10: Flower Show<\/a> (1829)<\/p>\n

Week 11: Women\u2019s medical college<\/a> (1850)<\/p>\n

Week 12: Matchbook<\/a> (1892)<\/p>\n

Week 13: Medical school <\/a>(1765)<\/p>\n

Week 14: Stadium <\/a>(1895)<\/p>\n

Week 15: Circus performance <\/a>(1793)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Week 16: Botanical garden<\/a> (1728)<\/p>\n

Week 17: Postmaster<\/a> (1737)<\/p>\n

Week 18: American-made piano and sousaphone <\/a>(1775 and 1893)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Week 19: Mother\u2019s Day<\/a> (1908)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Week 20: Hospital in America <\/a>(1751)<\/p>\n

Week 21: World\u2019s Fair on American soil<\/a> (1876)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Week 22: Steamboat for passengers and freight<\/a> (1787)<\/p>\n

Week 23: American flag<\/a> (1777)<\/p>\n

Week 24: U.S. Army<\/a> (1775)<\/p>\n

Week 25: Annual Reminder demonstration<\/a> (1965)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Upcoming<\/p>\n

\u2022 Paper maker in America (1690)
June 27, Rittenhouse Town, 6034 Wissahickon Ave.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Bank of the United States (1791)
July 4, First Bank of the United States, 120 S. 3rd St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Organized baseball team (1831)
July 11 (location TBD)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Ice cream soda (Oct. 1874)
July 18, Franklin Fountain, 116 Market St.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2022 American art school (1805)
July 25, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 118-128 N. Broad St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Scientific Society of Natural History (1812)
Aug. 1, at Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway<\/p>\n

\u2022 Zoo in America (1874)
Aug. 8, Philadelphia Zoo, 3400 W. Girard Ave.<\/p>\n

\u2022 U.S. Mint (1793)
Aug. 15 (location TBD)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Selfie (1839)
Aug. 22, Love Park, 1501 John F Kennedy Blvd.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Slinky (1943)
Aug. 29, Philadelphia Art Museum, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway<\/p>\n

\u2022 Signing of the Constitution (1787)
Sept. 5, National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Continental Congress (1774)
Sept. 12 at Carpenters\u2019 Hall, 320 Chestnut St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Naming of the United States (1776)
Sept. 19, Independence Hall<\/p>\n

\u2022 Ronald McDonald House (1974)
Sept. 26, Ronald McDonald House, 3925 Chestnut St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Penitentiary in America (1829)
Oct. 3, Eastern State Penitentiary, 2027 Fairmount Ave.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The First Peoples
Oct. 10, Penn Museum, 3260 South St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 U.S. Navy and Marine Corps (1775)
Oct. 17, Arch Street Meeting House, 320 Arch St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Public showing of a motion picture (1870)
Oct. 24, Philadelphia Film Society, 1412 Chestnut St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Modern detective story written (1841)
Oct. 31, Edgar Allan Poe House, 532 N. 7th St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Thanksgiving Day parade in America (1920)
Nov. 7, Benjamin Franklin Parkway<\/p>\n

\u2022 University in America (1740)
Nov. 14, Houston Hall, The University of Pennsylvania, 3417 Spruce St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Children\u2019s hospital in America (1855)
Nov. 21, Children\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia, Main Building, 3401 Civic Center Blvd.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Pencil with an attached eraser (1858)
Nov. 28, National Liberty Museum, 321 Chestnut St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Weather bureau (1870)
Dec. 5, The Franklin Institute, 222 N. 20th St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Electronic computer (1945)
Dec. 12, The University of Pennsylvania, 3451 Walnut St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Public lending library in America (1731)
Dec. 19, The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Philly food firsts: Cheesesteaks (1930s), water ice (1932) and bubble gum (1928)
Dec. 26, Reading Terminal Market, 1136 Arch St.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Love Philly? So do we. Let\u2019s be friends.\u00a0Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today. Paper is a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":228269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4000,227,564,70758,98887,94,15181,69,71,70],"class_list":["post-228268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-america-250","tag-education","tag-featured","tag-firstivals","tag-historic-rittenhousetown","tag-history","tag-paper","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/228269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}