Tuesday June 18, 1946
On a cool and very slightly damp morning in the middle of June 1946 life was likely pretty quiet in downtown Putney. The approximately 1000 residents were busy with their tasks for the day when a fire broke out in the Putney Paper Mill. The fire disrupted operations of the pulp mill and the Green View Tissue Company which operated in the paper mill. The fire reportedly started due to overheated bearings on the dryer of the paper machine. Oily paper lint then caught fire and the blaze spread from there.
Fighting the fire were crews from Putney, Brattleboro and Bellows Falls. Water from the mill pond was not available for about half an hour, due to what later was determined to be leaves and debris clogging the screen on the dry hydrant at the pond.
Damage was estimated at $100,000 with approximately half of the machinery being salvageable, but much of the building was destroyed.
Four days after the fire, machinery was installed in a separate building for use of the Green View Tissue Company and the principal owner, Wojcieck Kazmierczak, known as John Smith, reported that his employees along with some new hires were busy clearing the debris and planning to rebuild the mill. By April of 1947 the mill was back in operation with the mill rebuilt as an entirely new structure with the exception of the boiler room which was not damaged during the fire.
The accompanying photographs depict the mill in 1938 before the fire, in 1946 immediately after the fire and c. 1950 after the mill was rebuilt.
Circa 1938
1946, just after the fire
Circa 1950