Around 1803, when paper was being imported from England and the United States, two American paper makers, Walter Ware and Benjamin Wales, set out to establish the first paper mill in Canada in St. Andrews East (known today as Saint-André-d’Argenteuil). The factory used cloth rags to make newsprint, wrapping paper, and hatbox cardboard, which were shipped to Montréal by boat. Montréal printer James Brown, originally from Scotland, acquired the mill in 1809 and operated it until its closure in 1834. The origins of Canada’s important pulp and paper industry may be traced to the establishment of this paper mill.