The History of Paint: The United States First Paint Mill

This post is the first in a series of posts about history of the painting.  When we say “the history”, we’re not starting out with cave paintings, but rather with the history of the industry in the United States.  Check back each month on Coat It! for new posts on the history of the painting industry.

When was the first paint mill built in the United States? 

Surprisingly enough, you have to go all the way back to the year 1700 to find the first paint mill (that’s 76 years before we declared independence for those of you counting!).  The paint mill was established in Boston by one Thomas Child and used a granite trough and large granite ball to ground the pigments.  This trough and stone can still be found in Boston on Marshall Street and is known as “The Boston Stone”.  For years the Boston Stone was used by surveyors as a known starting point to measure distances.

While the first paint mill was established in 1700, it would take years before residential painting took off.  At this point in history, a painted house was a status symbol (who could afford the materials?) and paint mills popped up around the United States because the paint technology of the day would not allow for a long shelf life.  It wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution that the painting and coating industry really hit its stride, but that’s a post for another day. 

Anything to add?  Let us know in the comments or on Twitter.  Thanks for reading and happy coating!

 

Note: The caption for the image above is incorrect. The first paint mill was built in 1700.  In 1736 the factory was demolished and rebuilt.

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