As the ruins of the Harrisville Paper Mill stand today, it is crumbling over time. Photo by Kathleen Butler

Harrisville is a forgotten town of the Pine Barrens. It was once an extravagant village that had a paper mill, grist mill, saw mill, homes and a school that was also a church on Sunday’s. Today, large protected remnants of the paper mill can be seen and outlines of foundations can be found in the surrounding area.

Isaac Potts, the original landowner, was an ironmaster who had built Martha’s Furnace, which is a couple of miles northeast of Harrisville. He named the town after his wife, Martha Bolton; it was a town that had nearly 400 people at its peak.

Potts sold his holdings in the late 1700s after his wife passed away. Ownership of the land passed through several owners before entrepreneur William McCarty and a few of his partners ultimately purchased the land in 1832. The land had a forge and a slitting mill, but McCarty had other plans as the iron industry was abundant and too competitive, with nearby iron-producing villages such as Batsto, Speedwell and Atsion, to name a few.

Once McCarty had ownership of the land, he named the town McCartyville. His plans to erect the paper mill were set forth as the newly discovered papermaking industry was just starting to boom. The paper mill was constructed with stone and brick. The stone didn’t seem native to the area and is believed that it was bought in by wagon or floated down the river. The Wading River was dammed to help power the plant.

The Harrisville Paper Mill is a shell of its former self, but back in the 1830s, it was an impressive structure. Photo courtesy of NJ Advance Media

Shortly after the paper mill was built, McCarty and his partners had a village constructed. Built for the workers of the mill, it became a thriving community. He also fed his workers as long as they agreed to have deductions taken from the pay.

McCarty had discovered that salt hay could be used to make the paper, which was in abundance along the river and nearby marshes. It would be ground into a pulp with other material, resulting in brown paper that was sold in sheets or rolls.

The paper mill was successful until it caught fire in 1846; nothing could be done to save it. Most of the building was damaged, but McCarty and his partners decided to repair it and continue with papermaking. Later, it became a financial burden that ultimately caused a loan default, and the property was sold at sheriff’s sale. McCarty was only able to buy back a portion, but it was too late as the mill was inactive for too long.

In the 1850s, brothers Richard, William and Benjamin Harris, along with their father John, purchased the mill and its surrounding property. They changed the town name to Harrisville (sometimes referred to as Harrisia). The Harris Brothers built more homes for the workers, installed gaslights that were powered by a gas generator (by converting gasoline into vapor, which was transported through the underground piping), modernized the mill and updated the machinery.

Richard had a stone mansion built. He was not only the wealthiest of his brothers, but he had also worked for McCarty and had knowledge of the papermaking process.

Harrisville was doing well for a few decades until the late 1870s, when other papermaking industries started to outpace Harrisville. The new papermaking businesses not only had newer machinery, but they had better access to railroads. Harrisville profits started to decline.

A back view of the Harrisville Paper Mill after the 1914 fire. Photo courtesy of NJPineBarrens.com | Howard Feyl

After Richard Harris obtained a mortgage and a second mortgage to try to save the company, the paper mill’s revenue wasn’t improving. This led to defaults on the loans, and foreclosure proceedings had begun. The workers and townspeople started to move on and find work elsewhere. The town was eventually sold to Joseph Wharton in 1896. By this time, Harrisville was merely a ghost town. A forest fire swept through the Pine Barrens in 1914; it destroyed most of the paper mill. As it sat abandoned after the fire, vandals started to pick it apart. According to The Morning Post article dated May 25, 1932: “… so many stones have been removed from the ruins of the deserted paper mill that owners of the Wharton Estate have posted notices forbidding the practice.”

As the ruins of the paper mill stand today, it is crumbling over time. A glimpse of history can be seen from behind the chain-linked fence that is currently in place. It is located in Chatsworth just off Route 679 near Harrisville Pond.

Kathleen Butler writes about little-known local history so that others can venture out and explore these gems. She also has a YouTube channel, Rustic Ventures, as well as two published books: Abandoned Ruins on Public Lands in New Jersey and Abandoned Ruins of Eastern Pennsylvania.

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