That dollar in your pocket likely traveled the world before landing in your Levi’s. Yet, the origin story of that dollar began just 2.5 hours from Boston, in the Western Massachusetts town of Dalton.
Since the beginning of the American paper currency era, Crane Currency in Dalton, Massachusetts served as the sole provider of paper used for currency printing purposes. Paul Revere (yes, we’re going there), asked fellow American patriot, Thomas Crane to produce currency paper.
Crane’s paper was used to print the American colonies’ first bills. The rest is history.
Timeline of Crane Currency
In 1770, entrepreneur Stephen Crane established the Liberty Paper Mill, one of Mr. Crane’s earliest customers included Paul Revere! It was Stephen’s son, Zenas Crane, who brought the paper making to The Berkshires when he established a new paper mill along the Housatonic River in Dalton, Massachusetts. Since, Crane remained a staple of Berkshires culture.
In 1806, the Crane Paper Company printed and developed cotton currency paper for banks before eventually it was adopted by the government.
Since 1879, seven generations of the Crane family developed and supplied the paper for American currency. Winthrop M. Crane won the contract that made Crane the official U.S. paper provider for the government. To this day, Crane Currency, now owned by Crane & Co., remains the sole provider of paper for U.S. currency.
This means every single dollar bill to one-hundred-dollar bill to ever exist started at this Massachusetts production company 2.5 west of Boston and minutes from Northampton. And although production is in Western Massachusetts, Crane’s headquarters are in Boston!
Today, the company’s valuation is over $500 million, and Crane & Co. now owns several other offshoots such as Crane Stationary, Crane NXT, and Crane Payment Innovations.