The Dexter Corporation began in 1767 as a small, family-operated mill on land in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, purchased by Seth Dexter for his son, Seth Dexter . Originally a saw and grist mill, the business added a paper mill and began marketing specialty papers in the mid-nineteenth century. In its third generation of family ownership, under the direction of Charles Haskell Dexter, the company established itself as the C. H. Dexter Co. and developed products for a well-defined market of papers and tissues. Their Star Mills Medicated Manila Tissue was the first commercially-manufactured tissue. Together with his son, Edwin Dexter, and his son-in-law, H. R. Coffin, C.H. Dexter moved the company into the twentieth century as C. H. Dexter and Sons, Co. In 1914 the company was incorporated and was headed by A. D. Coffin, the son of H. R. Coffin .
The years of the depression in the 1930s saw the company's further evolution with the development of the Long Fiber Papers, and through mergers and divestments. In addition to its specialty tissues and paper covers, the company began producing tea bags and meat casings. To protect its interests in the markets it served, C. H. Dexter and Sons, Inc. carefully patented its products and logos, both domestically and internationally.
By the mid-twentieth century, having established the quality of its specialized papers, C. H. Dexter and Sons, Inc., began production of industrial finishes and laminates. The company renamed itself the Dexter Corporation in 1966 to reflect its expansion and development. In response to economic fluctuations and its new market interests, the company actively acquired, developed and divested itself of numerous subsidiaries. Simultaneously, Dexter Corporation moved further into international markets with plants in Scotland and Japan .
In 1999-2000, when a hostile takeover threatened to displace over 200 years of operations, the Dexter Corporation dismantled, merging its Life Sciences division with Invitrogen Corporation and its Specialty Polymers division with Loctite Corporation . Its Nonwovens Division was sold to the Finish company Ahlstrom Paper Group .
From the guide to the C.H. Dexter Company Records., 1829-1999, (Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center)
