| CN local prepares to spot a pair of boxcars at the loading docks of Shawano Paper Mill (div. of Little Rapids Corp.) via former C&NW rails at West Shawano in Town of Richmond, Shawano Co., WI on 19 Dec. '17. Founded as the Wolf River Paper & Fiber Co. at Shawano, WI on 7 Feb. 1894, production of pulp commenced on 22 Oct. of that year. They didn’t start producing paper until 24 Dec. ’02, after installation of No. 1 Paper Machine and a new building to house it. They ceased production of pulp in ‘45 and the name was shortened to Wolf River Paper Co. The name was changed to Shawano Paper Mills ca. Nov. ‘49. The facility was leased to Little Rapids Pulp Co. (later Little Rapids Corp.) in Feb. ’50, they purchased the facility on 25 Jun. ’55 and it continued to operate as Shawano Paper Mills. The name changed to Little Rapids Corp.-Shawano Mill in ‘93, but it is still commonly referred to as Shawano Paper Mill. The distinctive green, Mansard roof sits atop the company's Second Empire-style office building, erected in 1902 and expanded with an architecturally faithful addition in '41. The area around the mill, which includes some former company houses, used to be referred to as West Shawano. It was labelled as such on some old maps, and the name still appears on some property records. |