A smidge north from Savannah proper is the Port Wentworth paper mill–a sprawling assortment of smokestacks, silos and timber piles.
The plant has sat along the Savannah River since it began operating in 1948 under the Southern Paperboard Corporation, churning out a steady supply of pulp products and providing jobs in the region, under the care of companies like Continental Can and Weyerhauser.
In the most recent decade, the mill was operated by the nation’s largest paper producer, Memphis-based International Paper, which supplies a fifth of the US paper market, according to nonprofit research organization Center for Land Use Interpretation…