Charles Holmes Herty and the Birth of the Southern Newsprint Paper Industry, 1927-1940

Early sources of newsprint for American newspapers were forests of northeastern United States and Canada. Paper mills in those regions could produce enough newsprint for both countries. Pine trees of southeastern United States were considered unsuitable for newsprint because they were presumed to have a high resin content. Charles Holmes Herty (d. 1938) was a prominent Georgia chemist who discovered that the presumption about the unsuitability of pines for newsprint was erroneous. He organized and ran a research laboratory that worked out a process for making newsprint from pines. Primary and secondary sources; 11 photos, 64 notes.