The Former Fusion Paperboard Plant (Part 1)

 

148" Trim Inverformer Paper Machine for Multi-Ply Recycled Boxboard

I’ll never forget the day my friend J and I wandered onto that sprawling 400-acre property, following the path of a disused rail line. It felt like stepping into a forgotten world where time had simply stopped. At first, we passed by the front building without giving it much thought. J mentioned there wasn’t much to see inside, so we moved on. Little did I know, years later, I’d discover that the building was a treasure trove of abandoned saw machinery and other relics, left behind as if frozen in time.

Mill Raw Water Intake Building

But that day, our curiosity led us further into the property. We stumbled upon an older structure tucked along the fence line of Papermill Pond. It didn’t look like much at first glance—just another weathered building in a sea of overgrown grass and rusting metal. We decided to take a closer look. Inside, we found black plastic piping snaking through the space, and then, to our amazement, an enormous flywheel standing tall and proud, as if it had been waiting for us to find it.

It was incredible to see something so massive and mechanical still intact, untouched by scrappers or vandals. We couldn’t believe our luck. We snapped a few photos, marveling at the sheer scale of it, before moving on to explore the main manufacturing plant building.

After tugging on a few stubborn doors along the metal catwalk outside, we finally found one that gave way. Stepping inside felt like entering a labyrinth of color—pipes in every shade of red, green, and more snaked in every direction, creating a chaotic yet mesmerizing network. It was like walking into the veins of some giant, dormant machine.

We made our way upstairs, where we were greeted by another massive piece of machinery. It loomed over us, swallowing up an enormous amount of space. Neither of us could quite figure out its role in the paperboard-making process, but its sheer size was enough to leave us in awe. After a moment of quiet admiration, we moved on, eager to see what else the building held.

Paper Roll Reel Crane

Deeper inside, we stumbled upon a darker section of the ground floor. There, stretching out before us, was an enormous paperboard-rolling machine. It was so long it seemed to span nearly the length of a football field. I’d heard rumors that the machine had been sold, but on that first visit, it was still there—or at least parts of it were. I didn’t venture into the shadowy crevices of the machine at the time, but even from a distance, it was a sight to behold.

I couldn’t help but imagine what it must have been like when the machine was in operation. Picture it: massive amounts of evaporated water pouring out as the paperboard dried and rolled down the line, transforming recycled material into something new. This place wasn’t just a factory—it was a recycling powerhouse. It turned over 130,000 tons of used boxes every year into food-quality paperboard sheets. It was a reminder of how much ingenuity and effort went into creating something as seemingly simple as a cardboard box.

In the quiet town of Versailles, in New London County, Connecticut, the Fusion Paperboard CT LLC site is a sprawling testament to industrial history. Covering approximately 418 acres, the property is a patchwork of manufacturing buildings and structures that once buzzed with a thriving paperboard mill activity. Each building tells a story, from the massive 244,000-square-foot main manufacturing plant to the smaller, yet equally important, support structures scattered across the site.

Among these structures are the pump house for the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), the powerhouse building, and the raw water intake building. There’s also the former old mill building, a relic of an earlier era, and the flocculator building, which played a critical role in water treatment. For those unfamiliar, a flocculator uses special chemicals to bind suspended particles in water, creating larger clumps called flocs. These flocs are then removed through sedimentation or flotation, leaving cleaner water behind—a process that was essential to the mill’s operations.

The site’s water treatment system was extensive. Northwest of the main manufacturing building, three aeration stabilization basins helped manage wastewater, while two polishing ponds or lagoons sat to the west. South of the plant, near the Little River, stood the flocculator/clarifier, a key component in keeping the mill’s operations environmentally sound.

But the property’s features didn’t stop there. Two former landfills, two sludge pits, and a railroad spur hint at the site’s industrial scale. There were also former septic tanks, leach fields, and even a drum storage area. Aboveground storage tanks (ASTs) and a shallow transformer vault added to the complexity of the operation. And let’s not forget the industrial supply well, which played its part in keeping the mill running.

The Fusion Paperboard site isn’t just defined by its industrial structures—it’s also shaped by the water that surrounds it. The property is nestled among several bodies of water, each playing a role in the mill’s history and the local ecosystem.

To the north lies Papermill Pond, a sprawling 77-acre man-made impoundment. Its open waters are fringed by lush palustrine wetlands, creating a serene contrast to the industrial remnants nearby. The Little River flows out of Papermill Pond, spilling over a dam and winding its way for about a mile before emptying into Versailles Pond. At 57 acres, Versailles Pond is another man-made impoundment, held in place by a dam at its southern end. This dam, reportedly built in 1865, is a quiet testament to the area’s long history of human ingenuity and resource management.

From Versailles Pond, the Little River continues its journey, eventually merging with the Shetucket River about half a mile to the south. But the water story doesn’t end there. To the north of the property, an unnamed tributary flows discreetly beneath the parking lot, carried through a culvert before joining Papermill Pond and the Little River. And to the southeast, there’s yet another unnamed pond, adding to the network of waterways that define this landscape.

The backside of a 148" Trim Inverformer Paper Machine

The Versailles Mill site has a rich and layered history, shaped by over a century of industrial evolution and changing ownership. It all began in 1866 with the Inland Mill at Versailles, which operated for 50 years before becoming the Inland Paperboard Company in 1916. Over the decades, the mill passed through the hands of several major players in the industry. The Federal Paperboard Company took over in 1942, followed by International Paper in 1996, and then Sprague Paperboard, Inc. (a subsidiary of Caraustar Industries, Inc.) in 1999. Finally, in 2006, the property was acquired by Cascades Boxboard Group – Connecticut LLC, now known as Fusion Paperboard.

The site itself has seen significant changes over the years. The original Inland Mill was built near the Little River, but in 1962, the Federal constructed a new Sprague Mill just to the north. For a decade, both mills operated side by side until the old mill ceased production in 1972. It stood dormant for years before being demolished in 1988, marking the end of an era.

Adjacent to the mill, a carton plant was established around 1934, adding another layer to the site’s industrial story. Federal operated this facility from the mid-1950s until 1991 when Oak Tree Packaging took over. The carton plant specialized in producing folded printed cartons using lithographic presses, turning paper and carton stock into packaging for various industries. For a time, from 1991 to 1998, the Brooklyn Cooperage Company leased two of the buildings to produce folded cartons as well. Oak Tree continued operations until 2011, merging with Caraustar in 1997 along the way.

In July 2014, Fusion Paperboard delivered news that marked the end of an era: the Versailles Mill facility would close its doors for good on September 22 of that year. Just a month later, on August 12, manufacturing operations ground to a halt, and 145 employees were laid off. The closure wasn’t just a blow to the workers—it also left a financial strain on the community. Fusion owed more than 625,000 in unpaid property taxes to the town and an additional 2.02 million to the state Department of Economic and Community Development for a loan that had been used to upgrade the facility.

The mill’s final year of operation also cast a shadow over its legacy. In 2014, it produced 275,213 pounds of polycyclic aromatic compounds, earning the dubious distinction of being the state’s top polluter that year. It was a stark reminder of the environmental challenges that often accompany industrial operations.

By 2017, the town of Sprague had acquired the property due to Fusion’s failure to pay taxes. Since then, the town has been exploring ways to breathe new life into the sprawling site. Ideas for the land include subdividing it into smaller parcels to maximize tax revenue. Potential uses range from multi-family housing and bike trails to agricultural projects and commercial solar arrays. There’s even talk of leveraging the existing rail lines for aerospace industry needs.

As of 2025, part of the property has already found a new purpose: a truck repair business now operates on the site, a small but meaningful step in repurposing the land. The future of the rest of the property remains uncertain, but one thing is clear—the former Fusion Paperboard is poised for transformation, a new chapter in its long and complex history.

Stay tuned for Part 2 in this three-part series of the former Fusion Paperboard plant, where we venture inside the halls and spaces where recycled cardboard pulp becomes sheets of food packaging and cardboard. ♼

Small office building.

Sources:

1. Environmental Protection Agency. (2016). Removal program preliminary assessment/site investigation forms for the Fusion Paperboard CT LLC site Versailles, New London County, Connecticut (15 December 2015 and 21 January 2016). United States Environmental Protection Agency.

2. Benson, A. (2016, January 25).  EPA: Fusion Paperboard released the highest amount of toxins in Connecticut in 2014. The Norwich Bulletin. 

3. Weston Solutions, Inc. (n.d.). Removal program preliminary assessment/site investigation forms for the Fusion Paperboard CT LLC site Versailles, New London County, Connecticut. Region I, Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team IV (START). 101 Billerica Avenue, Building 5, Suite 103, North Billerica, MA 01862.