Above: The original paper machines at the Marathon Paper Mill. The No. 2 paper machine is on the left; No. 1 paper machine is on the right.
Shortly before noon on Nov. 18, 1910, Marathon Paper Mills produced its first paper on the mill’s No. 2 paper machine. D.C. Everest later recalled that the first paper ran through the machine without a single break and took only 40 minutes to produce.
The No. 1 paper machine began operating Dec. 1, followed by No. 3 on Jan. 2, 1911. In less than two years, an undeveloped site along the Wisconsin River had become one of the nation’s most advanced pulp-and-paper operations.
Explore more mill history: Discover how the Rothschild Dam and Marathon Paper Mill were built between 1909 and 1912 on our Mill & Dam History page.