Brompton Pulp & Paper Company
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In 1900, the Royal Mills Company decided to sell the holdings that it had purchased more than seven years earlier from the St. Francis Mills Corporation and never used. At the time that Onésime Lambert acquired large amounts of land for speculation, Edmund W. Tobin had a completely different idea in mind. He bought the Parc de la Rive, a long strip of land running along Saint-Lambert and Notre-Dame streets as well as all the land located on the other side of the river, on Route 143 and De Notre-Dame des mères Road.
That same year, he built a sawmill on the banks of the St. Francis River behind Notre-Dame Street. He also built a cement road on the other side of the waterway and, in 1901, he opened the Brompton Pulp & Paper Company.
In 1906, the Tobin Manufacturing Company (that would later become the Brompton Lumber & Manufacturing Company), one of Mr. Tobin’s other factories, opened at the Parc de la Rive. The thriving sawmill had a lumber factory as well as a sawdust factory for manufacturing paper. Hence, Edmund W. Tobin soon became one of the richest men in the region.
Problems with the factory workers began to emerge in April 1920. For one month, the Brompton Pulp & Paper Company’s 200 workers were on strike. Another strike, this time of lesser importance, occurred in early 1930. In 1938, the company was bombarded with administrative problems following the death of Mr. Tobin.
The flood of March 1948 dealt the final blow to the company. Judging that the factory should have delayed opening the sluice gates, the Town of Bromptonville held it responsible for the flood. The Brompton Pulp & Paper Company was sued for a sum of one million dollars and forced to close its doors. In 1949, the Ville de Sherbrooke bought the factory to use its turbines to generate hydroelectricity. The pulp and paper plant was later purchased by Kruger Inc., which continues to operate it to this day.
That same year, he built a sawmill on the banks of the St. Francis River behind Notre-Dame Street. He also built a cement road on the other side of the waterway and, in 1901, he opened the Brompton Pulp & Paper Company.
In 1906, the Tobin Manufacturing Company (that would later become the Brompton Lumber & Manufacturing Company), one of Mr. Tobin’s other factories, opened at the Parc de la Rive. The thriving sawmill had a lumber factory as well as a sawdust factory for manufacturing paper. Hence, Edmund W. Tobin soon became one of the richest men in the region.
Problems with the factory workers began to emerge in April 1920. For one month, the Brompton Pulp & Paper Company’s 200 workers were on strike. Another strike, this time of lesser importance, occurred in early 1930. In 1938, the company was bombarded with administrative problems following the death of Mr. Tobin.
The flood of March 1948 dealt the final blow to the company. Judging that the factory should have delayed opening the sluice gates, the Town of Bromptonville held it responsible for the flood. The Brompton Pulp & Paper Company was sued for a sum of one million dollars and forced to close its doors. In 1949, the Ville de Sherbrooke bought the factory to use its turbines to generate hydroelectricity. The pulp and paper plant was later purchased by Kruger Inc., which continues to operate it to this day.
