Best Web Design in Parchment, MI (2026)

Web Design for Parchment, Michigan

Parchment is a purpose-built company town on the Kalamazoo River, founded in 1909 around Jacob Kindleberger's Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Company and known as 'The Paper City' since 1939. Its mill once employed more than 1,700 people and was called 'the world's model paper mill,' but papermaking ended in 2000 and the plant was demolished. The city later became nationally known for a 2018 PFAS water-contamination emergency.

AppWT serves Parchment and the surrounding Michigan area from Livonia, Michigan.

About Parchment

Also known as. The Paper City.

History. Founded in 1909 when Jacob 'Uncle Jake' Kindleberger set up the Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Company (KVP) in an abandoned sugar-beet factory on the banks of the Kalamazoo River, planning a mill and a town together. The company's first employees lived in tents outside the mill before permanent worker housing was built; KVP sold land parcels to its workers. In 1930, with a population of 511, the governor of Michigan approved a charter turning part of northern Kalamazoo Township into the Village of Parchment. On July 28, 1930, Jacob and Lucinda Kindleberger donated roughly 38 to 40 acres to create Kindleberger Park for the young village. Parchment incorporated as a city in 1939 and has been called 'The Paper City' ever since. KVP merged with Sutherland Paper Company in 1960; the Brown Company bought KVP-Sutherland in 1966; James River Corporation acquired it in 1980; Crown Vantage ran the mill from 1995 until papermaking ceased in 2000, with demolition of the site beginning around 2011.

Local economy. Built entirely on paper manufacturing; in the 1940s and 1950s KVP employed over 1,700 people and was known as 'the world's model paper mill.' After paper production ended in 2000, the city has struggled to sustain itself as its anchor employer disappeared and the mill was torn down. Now largely a residential community within the greater Kalamazoo metropolitan area, one of the smallest cities in Kalamazoo County by area.

Culture and community. The Kindleberger Summer Festival of the Performing Arts, begun in 1982, has grown from a single play in the park into a five-day annual event of outdoor community theatre, live music, family activities, and local food. Performances are staged at The Stage at Kindleberger in Kindleberger Park, fulfilling Jacob Kindleberger's stated goal of benefiting 'the future generations.' Parchment High School, built in 1959, fields the Parchment Panthers and anchors the town's civic and athletic life; the district maintains a Community Hall of Fame.

What makes Parchment distinct. Parchment is the youngest city in Kalamazoo County and literally began as a cluster of workers' tents outside a paper mill. In July 2018 the city's drinking water tested at 1,587 parts per trillion of PFAS, more than 20 times the then-EPA guideline; Governor Rick Snyder declared a State of Emergency on July 29, 2018. Officials suspect a capped landfill at the old mill site as the PFAS source, since the chemicals were used in papermaking; Parchment now permanently draws its water from the City of Kalamazoo's supply. The entire street grid and housing were planned by a single paper-company founder as a model industrial community.

Parchment Landmarks and Local Life

• Kindleberger Park - the roughly 38-acre park donated by the Kindlebergers in 1930 and the center of town life, with its own historical marker
• The former KVP / Crown Vantage paper mill site along the Kalamazoo River - demolished beginning in 2011
• The Kalamazoo River - which powered and defined the company town

What AppWT Web & AI Solutions Builds for Parchment Businesses

AI-first web design, SEO with GEO and AIVO, voice-search readiness and ongoing care. See the full service list.

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