George West

George West (February 17, 1823-September 20, 1901) was a U.S. Representative from New York. Born in Bradninch, England, West attended the common schools. West immigrated 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 from 1872 to 1876; was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1880, 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. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1882 to the Forty-eighth Congress.

West was elected to the Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Congresses, holding office from March 4, 1885 to March 3, 1889. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1888 and resumed his former business activities.

West was called "The Paper Bag King" because he invented a line of square-bottomed paper bags at a time when most bags were made from cotton. [Invented in Ballston Spa, 2008] They became extremely popular, and he sold millions per month. His paper bag factory in Rock City Falls was one of the first in the country to manufacture bags with machinery. He sold his paper mill empire to the Union Bag & Paper Company in 1899 for $1.5 million. [Lost Industries of the Kaydeross Valley, 2007]

His mills consisted of the Union, Union Bag, Island, Eagle, Pioneer, Glen (pulp), Empire, Excelsior, and Middle Grove Upper and Lower. His original residence in Rock City Falls still stands on Route 29 as The Mansion Inn.

West died in Ballston Spa in 1902; his remains were interred in the Ballston Spa Cemetery.

ource

*
* Lost Industries of the Kaydeross Valley; Starr, Timothy, 2007

External Links

* [http://www.ballstonhistory.com Lost Industries of the Kaydeross Valley: A History of Manufacturing in Ballston Spa, New York]