Charles Forster set up his first toothpick mill in an old starch mill on Valley Brook in 1887. By 1897 demand for Forster products far exceeded the production capabilities at that location so he purchased this J. W. Porter mill and property near the Strong railroad depot.
From this mill site Forster Manufacturing Co. produced toothpicks and wooden flatware that was shipped nationwide and to markets abroad for more than a century.
