Between Darkness & Light | Harding-Jones Paper Mill

The first thing that struck me about the Harding-Jones Paper Mill was the age of the building. Most of the buildings I had explored up to that point were mainly from the 20th century; this was presented as one from the Civil War era. Of course, now know that this is not true; while the company was founded in 1865, the mill that stood was from 1871. But still, getting the chance to explore something from the mid-19th century was a real treat. Plus, it is one that is easy to explore and, despite structural concerns, an easy mark with a lot of history tied to the local area.

Born into a papermaking family in England, AE Harding entered the family business as an appretence. After gaining journeyman status, Harding emigrated to the United States in 1850 and began working in the paper industry through several mills in Massachusetts. To attract more industry, Middletown, Ohio, completed a hydraulic water channel in 1852, and it worked. A small group of investors opened the Middletown Paper Mill in 1853 and hired Harding as the superintendent. In 1854, the Middletown Paper Mill produced 29,000kg of fine writing paper and newsprint combined. During his time there, Harding made several contacts. 1865 Harding and George Erwin struck out on their own, establishing the Harding, Erwin & Co Paper Company. Purchasing a property along the newly created Erie-Miami Canal south of Middletown provided the power for the new mill. The 1865 Mill consisted of a single three-storey wooden structure on a stone foundation. Harding, Erwin & Co. focused on creating fine-writing paper as their sole product, the first mill west of the Allegheny Mountains. Excello Paper can be produced in any size and is often considered the benchmark for fine writing paper. The original mill was torn down in 1870 with the move from water to steam power, and a new three-storey brick mill with a Corliss-Type steam engine was installed in 1871. Harding bought out his partner a year later, changing the company name to the Harding Paper Co. By this time, a small company village thrived around the mill, with several houses, workers’ lodgings, shops, and a post office. Harding even lived in a grand house across the road from his mill. By 1878, an Edison DC Generator was installed to power the mill with electricity; this was the fifth generator built by Edition. Harding would leverage his success and construct a new stone house in 1875. He only lived ten years in his new home before he died in 1885. Ownership of the mill fell to Harding’s son CE Harding and son-in-law Thomas Jones, the two men managed the mill until selling it to American Fine Writing Co in 1899.

The late 19th and early 20th century, the mill underwent a series of expansions and upgrades, with the central 1871 section retained. Thomas Jones regained ownership of the Excello Mill in 1925, forming the Harding-Jones Paper Co. While times had changed, the Excello Mill continued to output high-quality paper using all the same machines first installed in the 19th century. The earlier expansions followed the style and material of the original mill. However, a later addition used concrete blocks for shipping and storage. Sadly, the date of Jones’ death is unknown, and with a name like Thomas Jones, it is difficult to locate online. However, the company continued to operate well into the middle of the 20th century, celebrating its 100th anniversary in 1965. 1975, the Harding-Jones Historic District was designated, including the mill, two houses (AE Harding’s original 1864 residence and his newer 1875 residence), and a carriage house. Even then, the mill could output 20,000kg of paper daily. Ownership fell to Simpson Paper in 1983, who continued to operate the mill until 1990, as the cost of maintaining the old machines was no longer profitable. The mill’s history is vague; the property was purchased and used as a used car parts store and warehouse and then as a haunted house attraction in the early 2000s. From what I could gather from Google Streetview, the mill was abandoned and empty by 2010. At some point in either 2015 or 2016, the roof of the original 1871 section collapsed, at which point the entire mill was demolished by 2018. Today, only the smoke stack stands. However, the 1875 and 1864 Harding Homes still stand along with several other historic homes that once made up the company town. You can also find the ruins of Lock 34 of the Erie-Miami Canal nearby.

A Very Cincinnati Xmas PEX, or VCXPEX, in its second year of running, proved to be an epic event; I also learned that Great Wolf Lodge is a place designed for families with children, not a group of young adults keen on trespassing. But one thing that VCXPEX II included in 2012 was my first trip to Harding-Jones. We were teased that this was a Civil War-era building and would be easy to access. And while I would eventually find out that the current building dated to after the Civil War, it still proved to be a highlight of the event. While we could have parked closer to the mill proper, it would have drawn undue attention with a few cars near a local abandoned building. Sticking our vehicles randomly in a nearby trailer park, we hiked along the road. The building certainly did not disappoint. Despite not being a paper mill for almost twenty years, many things were left behind to say it had been a paper mill. From giant spools of rotting paper stock, machines, and vats to prepare the pulp. Sadly, I didn’t see any of the paper-making machinery; those were all up on the upper floors, which were unsafe. We could look up from the first floor and see the giant holes and sagging parts. I didn’t want to risk a fall, so I stayed as safe as possible on the first floor and the basement. We spent a fair amount of time in the mill that first trip but would then check out another paper mill that had recently opened up before returning to Dayton for a soap factory. The following year, I went back, trying to remember if I went solo or with a couple other people. This time, I was armed strictly with film cameras; it was nice that the location isn’t on a major road, and Sundays can be sleepy in that part of Ohio, so even as a Canadian, it is a safe bet to check out. The location was never well secured, and if you stuck to the safe parts, you could get in and out without any trouble. That second trip proved rather relaxing; I was comfortable enough to break out the large format camera to capture the place. That was also a short trip, a roll of 35mm and four sheets of 4×5 before returning to Cincinnati. I tried to make a third trip at the final VCXPEX event I attended. I planned to break off the group on a Sunday morning, roll through Middletown and hit up the mill with my Hasselblad before continuing north to Findlay and heading home on Monday. I got in, parked, got the camera loaded, and took one shot of the historical marker for the Excello Locks; when I turned it on, the camera jammed up. No worries, I had the F5 with me and the 35/2D would suffice. Except I started to hear some shouting and what sounded like gunfire. Well, I turned around as quickly as possible, booked my car and drove straight to my destination for two and a half hours. I don’t think I calmed down for the first hour.

I used a lot of film at this location, and by 2012, I was digging deep into exploring beyond the regular films I learned about and tried some new cameras out here. The Harding-Jones Mill is a place where you want to shoot black & white films. The lines and textures work well, and I picked some excellent film stocks to shoot here. Some of my favourite shots are from that first trip using my Pentax 645 and the brilliant 35mm f/3.5 lens; that lens inspired me to get the same focal length when I went to the Mamiya m645 system. But what sold me on that roll was the film stock, Adox CHS 50 ART, or a rebadge of Efke R50, a continuation of the original Adox mid-speed (ASA-50) offering. This silver-rich film is a classic emulsion with fine grain and excellent sharpness, only enhanced using Rodinal. The second roll I shot on that first trip used the Horizon Kompakt, a Lomography-produced copy of the iconic swing lens panoramic camera from the Soviet Union. While I didn’t use the camera inside the mill, I liked the weird images it made of its exterior. The digital images are right on point for what I would typically create in 2012, mainly with the 14-24mm lens, which on my D300 gave me a 21mm equivalent lens. I also played with some HDR work. The second trip during VCXPEX III was enjoyable because, for the first time, I ran with a camera kit made up entirely of film cameras. This was one of my first trips shooting 4×5 in an abandoned building. I rather liked the results I got using Ilford Ortho Copy Plus and the ancient roll of Tri-X I shot at ASA-100 using the 14-24mm on my F4 to get the full effect of the ultra-wide lens. The one problem with that roll of Tri-X is that I didn’t get many usable shots because I needed to account for reciprocity. Being limited on what I could do with a G-Type lens on the F4, I was stuck to shutter priority or full auto-exposure. I regret not using the Rolleiflex when I was there. That little mishap with the Hasselblad square format could have pushed me more as a photographer inside the space.

There’s one thing I’m reminded of, looking back at my two trips to the Harding-Jones Mill. In that case, photography is essential to preserving the memory of these places. It also shows that a historical designation on paper doesn’t always protect a building from demolition. Harding-Jones had two strikes against it; the first was the location, far from the core of Middletown and off the beaten path. There is also the question of what to do with a remote paper mill from the 19th Century? The obvious answer would be to turn it into a museum of the paper-making industry in Middletown, but would that be enough to attract enough people to make it worthwhile? By the time I was poking around the place, it was already in terrible condition, and the cost would be enormous to revitalise and repair it to the point of habitation. But at least I have my photos to add to the online collection of the final couple of years when the place still stood almost in its original condition. You can check out all my images from the Harding-Jones Mill over on Flickr. Sadly I don’t have enough images from the other paper mill I explored in Middletown, the Middletown Paper Board plant for a full post like this one, but you can view those on Flickr also.