77 process throughout the years, but none of the innovations were as important as the water-powered paper mill. This innovation, created sometime between the 11th and 14th centuries made the process of paper manufacturing faster and more efficient than ever before.2 The only issue with this form of paper production is that it required the mills to have access to even more water than before, which placed most of them directly next to rivers and lakes, the Fox River being no exception. The main source of fibers for the paper making process are trees, specifically softwood coniferous trees such as spruce, pine, and fir trees. These trees are a necessity for the paper produced to be high in quality and efficient to create. This means that areas with these types of trees were much more ideal for the creation of paper mills since the materials needed would no longer need to be transported as far. This works well with the Fox River since it’s located in the northern part of Illinois, a colder environment with a dense population of coniferous trees. The paper making process in general is also very water intensive, but since the creation of the water-powered paper mill it has become even more so. In fact, “to make 1 ton of newsprint, about 100 tons of water is needed”.3 This makes the combination of the water on the river, the trees in the environment around the river, and the already existent industry along the river the perfect mix to have paper mills along the river. 3 The Fox River has many paper mills as well as other mills along its banks. The precise number has changed a lot since the colonization and population of the area, but today there are around 9 major mills on or near the banks of the river. Each of these mills use the water from the river, and for the longest time these mills as well as other mills along the river would simply dump their wastewater directly back into the river.4 This had terrible effects on the river and the plants and 2“Brief History of Paper Mills,” PaperTR, May 27, 2021, https://www.papertr.com/brief-history-of-paper-mills/ 3 Smriti Chand, “Locational Factors of Pulp and Paper Industries,” Your Article Library, February 8, 2014, 4 “The Fox River's Still Recovering from ‘Gaslight Era’ Pollution...,” historyonthefox, July 14, 2020, https://historyonthefox.wordpress.com/2020/07/13/the-fox-rivers-still-recovering-from-gaslight-era-pollution/.
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