Closure of the Port St. Joe Paper Mill; Port St. Joe Florida

[Lehighton_Man]

Hey all,
I've been looking into this recently... And it really has captured my attention.
Firstly, Why? What was the fundamental cause for the mill's closure?
Secondly, How did this impact the overall service of the Apachicola Northern? I do see it gave quite the hit to the area around Port St. Joe.
Thirdly, Are there any present plans, besides this "Planned" deepwater port on the site of the former mill?
Thanks.
Sean

[262]

The St.Joe Co.,A&N and FEC Railway were controled by a chairitable trust set up by the Duponts.A man named Edward Ball who married into the family was the head of the enterprise.When he died sometime in the 1980s I think. The judge who was in charge of the estate found that little or no money was going to charity.He also found that no foul play was involved because Mr. Ball was plowing most of the profit back into the corporation.The Judge ordered that the charitable trust divest itself from the corporate structure and adhere to its charter.This took some time and The new company which eventually went public Florida East Coast Industries bought itself some good will by trading some ,(They were the largest private landholder in Florida)envirormentaly valuable land to the State of Florida.Forced to compete in the real world of stocks and share holders ,and no interested buyers for St. Joe the return on investment did not appeal to the powers that be.Many paper mills are closing due to cheap foriegn labor and pollution problems.Most of those that are still in business have downsized and make only fine grade and specialty paper.I read somewhere that the biggest export from the west coast of the U.S. is scrap paper.

[Lehighton_Man]

Such a shame to see something like that go. How our Government promises change, and hopes for a better economy yet remains in the blinds about overseas labor, and these American companies that continue to ship it over there.
My opinions, incorrect to others. That's just the way I see it.
Thanks for the information 262.