George West

George West (February 17, 1823 – September 20, 1901) was an industrialist and a U.S. Representative from New York.

Life Born in Bradninch, Devonshire, England, West attended the common schools. West emigrated to the United States in February 1849 and settled at Ballston Spa, New York in 1860.

Business career

In Ballston Spa West gradually acquired nine water-powered mills on Kayaderosseras Creek by 1879 manufacturing cotton, paper, and paper bags.

West was called "The Paper Bag King" because he was one of the first men in the country to manufacture paper bags at a time when most bags were made from cotton. In 1869, he and the few other bag manufacturers in the country joined with Francis Wolle, inventor of the first paper bag machine, to form the Union Paper Bag Machine Company. Its only purpose was to "buy and fight patents." This early trust was highly successful, as each member had access to all of the earliest paper bag patents and agreed not to compete with each other.

He also served as President of the First National Bank of Ballston Spa from 1879 until his death.

Political career West served as member of the New York State Assembly (Saratoga Co., 1st Assembly District) in 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875 and 1876 and was a delegate to the 1880 Republican National Convention.

He was elected as a Republican to the Forty-seventh Congress, holding office from March 4, 1881, to March 3, 1883. He was defeated by Edward Wemple in 1882, but returned to the 49th and 50th United States Congresses, holding office from March 4, 1885, to March 3, 1889. Afterwards, he resumed his former business activities.

Personal West married Louisa Rose (1822-1901) in England. The couple had six children, three of whom lived to adulthood. George (b.1845, Devonshire, England, d.1906, Ballston Spa, New York), Walter S. (1854-1875), and Florence L. (b.1856, Russell, Massachusetts, d.1934, Saratoga Springs, New York), who married D. W. Mabee.

He was known as a philanthropist, donating funds to build a museum in Round Lake, New York, a Methodist church in Ballston Spa, and making liberal contributions towards the two soldiers' monuments in Saratoga County, in Ballston Spa and Schuylerville.

In 1901 West died at his mansion in Ballston Spa with a fortune that would today be worth $75 million. His wife predeceased him by seven months. They are buried in the Ballston Spa Village Cemetery.

His original residence in Rock City Falls still stands on Route 29 as The Mansion Inn, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.