Stephen Crane was the first in the Crane family to become a papermaker, buying his first mill, "The Liberty Paper Mill", in 1770. He sold currency-type paper to engraver Paul Revere, who printed the American Colonies' first paper money. In 1801, Crane was founded by Zenas Crane, Henry Wiswall and John Willard. The company's original mill had a daily output of 20 posts (1 post = 125 sheets). Shortly after, in 1806, Crane began printing currency on cotton paper for local, as well as regional, banks, before officially printing for the government. In 1844 Crane developed a method to embed parallel silk threads in banknote paper to denominate notes and deter counterfeiting.