George West - Life

Life

Born in Bradninch, England, West attended the common schools. West emigrated to the United States in February 1849 and settled at Ballston Spa, New York. He engaged in paper manufacturing; served as member of the New York State Assembly (Saratoga Co., 1st D.) in 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875 and 1876; was a delegate to the 1880 Republican National Convention; and was President of the First National Bank of Ballston Spa.

West was elected as a Republican to the Forty-seventh Congress, holding office from March 4, 1881, to March 3, 1883.

West was elected to the 49th and 50th United States Congresses, holding office from March 4, 1885, to March 3, 1889. Afterwards he resumed his former business activities.

West was called "The Paper Bag King" because he was one of the first men in the country to manufacture paper bags at a time when most bags were made from cotton. In 1869, he and the few other bag manufacturers in the country joined with Francis Wolle, inventor of the first paper bag machine, to form the Union Paper Bag Machine Company. Its only purpose was to "buy and fight patents." This early trust was highly successful, as each member had access to all of the earliest paper bag patents and agreed not to compete with each other.

West manufactured bags from manila paper made of inexpensive jute butts from India. Thus, he was able to sell them at a much lower cost than cotton sacks. They became extremely popular, and he sold millions per week. His paper bag factory in Rock City Falls was one of the first in the country to manufacture bags with machinery.

The success of his bags compelled West to purchase or build additional paper mills. By 1880 his mills consisted of the Union, Union Bag, Island, Eagle, Pioneer, Glen (pulp), Empire, Excelsior, and Middle Grove Upper and Lower mills, all situated on the Kayaderosseras Creek in Milton (town), New York. He also purchased his largest mill in the town of Hadley, New York on the Hudson River.

West was also known as a philanthropist, donating funds to build a museum in Round Lake, New York, a Methodist church in Ballston Spa, and contributed liberally towards the two soldiers' monuments in Saratoga County (at Ballston Spa and Schuylerville).

West sold his paper mill empire to the Union Bag & Paper Company in 1899 for $1.5 million. His original residence in Rock City Falls still stands on Route 29 as The Mansion Inn.

West died at his mansion in Ballston Spa in 1902 with a fortune that would today be worth $75 million. His remains were interred in the Ballston Spa Cemetery.