West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company stock certificate 1953

Great vignette of two classical male figures flanking the company logo.  Issued and cancelled. Dated 1953. Name changed to Westvaco in 1969.

Incorporated 1899, the company merged with Mead to become today's MeadWestvaco (MWV), based in Richmond, VA.  The company is now WestRock after a 2015 merger.

In 1888, William Luke and three of his sons founded the Piedmont Pulp and Paper Company in West Piedmont, West Virginia, with the intention to produce wood pulp using the sulphite process. Over the next few years, they acquired more land in West Virginia and Maryland and constructed additional mills for manufacturing both wood pulp and paper. In 1897, the various operations were consolidated to form the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company.

Over the 20th century the company acquired timberlands and mills in Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, the Carolinas, Kentucky, Texas, and Brazil, often by purchasing smaller companies. In 1919, the company hired its first industrial forester, and over time expanded its forest management research. In 1929, the company opened a headquarters office in New York City. In 1969, West Virginia Pulp and Paper changed its name to Westvaco to represent its diversified interests; by then it was producing not only a wide range of pulp and paper products, but also many specialty chemicals derived from pulp and papermaking processes.