Early industries included agriculture, lumbering, and lime making. Abundant streams and rivers provided water power for mills that produced textiles and wire. Papermaking became the principal industry in 1806 with the construction of the Willow Mill by Samuel Church in South Lee. The Columbia Mill in central Lee was established in 1827, and eventually became the first to supply 100% groundwood newsprint to "The New York Times". By 1857, there were 25 paper mills in Lee. The Smith Paper Company discovered how to manufacture paper solely from wood pulp in 1867, and through the 1870s was the country's largest producer of paper. The mills previously owned by Smith Paper Company were closed in 2008. Today, Lee has only a single papermaking facility.