History (Re) Photographed:
by Concordia College students in History 112HU, Fall 2016

Brainerd Paper Milll

The paper mill in Brainerd Minnesota has been in Brainerd for a very long time and is one of the oldest buildings Brainerd has to offer. The paper mill changed over that period due to the immigration and urbanization of the Midwest in the earlier twentieth century. The mill was built in 1916 and if one would take a drive down Mill Ave in northeast Brainerd you can still see the structure standing there. While the mill is still there many changes are evident when you look at the building. As you can see in the picture below the trees and shrubs around the building have grown a lot over the years and shows a lot of time has passed, what were once small oak trees are now big and tall. The building and damn itself however have changed as well while it might be harder to pick out compared to the landscape the changes are still there. Many additions have been added to the mill due to its growth and the growth of the town around it. You can also see the building now has surrounding fence and a perimeter that it did not have before along with new technologies that they did not have back in the twentieth century. You can see the technologies in the dam itself and even around it making a lot of the work that used to be manual now automatic. Other evidence of changes in technologies over time is the air conditioning unit placed on top of the building which is lacking in the older picture. Along with a new water tower that appears to be bigger in the newer picture and looks to be able to hold more than the older one did.

            These changes didn’t just happen for no reason, there are explanations for these changes and it’s not just because trees slowly grow over time. The mill had these additions due to the fact that the Brainerd area had a time of immigration as did much of the Midwest in the early twentieth century. There was an influx of immigrants mainly from countries in Europe. The most popular ones for the area were the Scandinavian countries such as Norway and Sweden. Once people started moving into the town of Brainerd the town began to grow from an agricultural based town to a more industrial based town due to the influx of people. The town began to change as did lot of the smaller towns in the Midwest due to the industrial revolution, which was sweeping across the entire United States. This couldn’t have come at a better time for the mill. The more industries that were built in the area the better it was for the mill. These new industries needed someone to supply them with the paper and it being the only paper mill in town, it needed to grow as well. Also during the industrial revolution, there were many new technologies being invented. The new computer systems that run the mill today weren’t invented yet, smaller things like the air conditioner you see are prime examples of technologies that weren’t invented and became very popular during the time of the industrial revolution.

 It’s also subject of argument that Brainerd along with many other Midwestern towns developed and rose due to this rise of an industrial based economy with the help of the agriculture based economy. Brian Page and Richard Walker wrote an article on the subject of the settlement of the Midwest and argued that the process of settling the area was due in fact to this change from an agricultural based economy to and industrial based one.(1) Stating that in the new capitalistic expansion of America many new methods and industries rose in their own separate waves across the country. While Brainerd might have been a little slower in its growth and industrialization compared to say St. Cloud or St. Paul it is still an example of this idea that the immigration and settlement of the area was due in fact to this industrialization shift of the Midwest. (2) The paper mill was the first part of the industrialization of Brainerd and played a key role in its urbanization. This industrialization shift is the reason for these changes you see in the picture including the expansion of the building itself and the things around it like the water tower and the dam.

 Changes to the building continued to happen to the building after the shift as well Brainerd continued its slow growth and changed eventually to a more tourism based economy in its later years which explains why the building now looks and feels a little empty. The trees and shrubs around the mill almost seem over grown and that is because the mill changed hands a couple of times trying to stay afloat in a tourism based economy but could not prevail and the mill part of the building shut down. Today it is an industrial center and has space available for commercial, industrial, and small businesses and is looking to bring back some of prosperity and opportunity that it once provided back to the Brainerd lakes area. 

(1)Brain Page and Richard Walker. “From Settlement to Fordism: The Agro-Industrial Revolution in The Midwest.” Economic Geography, Vol. 67, No. 4 (Oct, 1991), pp. 281-315
(2)Brain Page and Richard Walker. “From Settlement to Fordism: The Agro-Industrial Revolution in The Midwest.” Economic Geography, Vol. 67, No. 4 (Oct, 1991), pp. 281-315

Photo Credits:
Historical Photo: "Paper Mill, Brainerd," Minnesota Historical Society, MC109BR31r5.jpg Used With Permission

Rephotograph: By Jake Ellingson