University of Wyoming
The Mead Corporation formed in 1846 by Colonel Daniel Mead under the name Ellis, Chafflin and Company, and he and his partners began operating a paper mill in Dayton, Ohio which produced paper for books and other printing projects. After a series of name changes between 1860 and 1882 which resulted in the name Mead Paper Company, Mead bought a new facility in Chillicothe Ohio in 1890.
After Daniel Mead’s death in 1891, management of the company passed to his sons who lead the company into financial hardship and massive debt. In 1904 a suit against the company’s debts resulted in the formation of trusteeship by bankers in Dayton, Chillicothe, and Cincinnati, Ohio. These bankers called on George Mead, the most business savvy son, to take over leadership of the Mead Paper Company. George quickly reorganized the business into the Mead Pulp and Paper Company, and he would remain vice president and general manager for 43 years.
The company was officially incorporated in 1930. Mead struggled to grow during WWII despite ramping up production to meet domestic and overseas demand. Upon the war’s conclusion, the paper company steadied once again. During the next two decades, it would acquire numerous paper wholesalers, prompting an anti-trust suit which resulted in an agreement in 1970 to sell off 22 paper outlets.
Collection contains a report titled Report on the Mead Corporation, dated January 1, 1946.
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Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
This material was received from the Mead Corporation in June 1965.
There are no known other archival collections created by the Mead Corporation at the date of processing.
The American Heritage Center is in the process of converting its older container lists to a more accessible format. This link is to an older version of a container list for 1 box.