US EditionPulp Friction: The Rise and Fall of Brainerd's Paper Making Industry
The Brainerd paper mill, vital for over a century, closed in 2013 due to economic shifts and technology, ending a legacy that employed hundreds and shaped local culture.
- Potlatch paper mill in Brainerd, Minnesota, ran its last paper before sunrise, ending a multi-generational industry in the community, with workers leaving days earlier.
- Brainerd's location offered dense forests, Northern Pacific Railway links and Mississippi River power, while economic shocks and the internet eroded demand and profit margins over time.
- The mill produced 292 tons per day of printing papers and paper rolls weighing about 25,000 pounds, while Kari Stoxen, Potlatch employee, described pulp consistency using Hollander beaters and moving wire screens.
- Ownership shifts involved Missota Paper Co. and Wausau Paper Co., with the $8.7 million property repurposed as Brainerd Industrial Center, creating 87 jobs despite community mourning.
- Beyond jobs, the Zelinske family devoted more than 103 years to the paper business while Duluth News Tribune and other contemporary reports documented contamination and odors from mill wastes in the Mississippi River.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Pine Journal
Pulp friction: The rise and fall of Brainerd's paper making industry
BRAINERD, Minn. — Working at the town's paper mill was more than a job for most Brainerd people. For more than a century, it became a way of life that gave birth to generations. It was an “extended family,” according to an account by David Jackson and published in the Brainerd Daily Dispatch in 2002, just before the paper mill closed. When the mill shut down, it was like mourning a death. The Zelinske family collectively dedicated more than 103 …
Pulp friction: the rise and fall of Brainerd's paper making industry
BRAINERD, Minn. — Working at the town's paper mill was more than a job for most Brainerd people. For more than a century, it became a way of life that gave birth to generations. It was an “extended family,” according to an account by David Jackson and published in the Brainerd Daily Dispatch in 2002, just before the paper mill closed. When the mill shut down, it was like mourning a death. The Zelinske family collectively dedicated more than 103 …
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