West Linn Paper Company said Monday that it will close down, eliminating roughly 250 jobs and closing the door on the mill's 128-year history.

"Several unforeseeable events have led to a significant reduction in available pulp, making continued operations impossible. As a result we will wind up our operations as quickly and efficiently as possible, beginning immediately," Brian Konen, West Linn Paper's chief operating officer, said in a written statement.

In a note to employees, obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive, Konen said the decision to close came abruptly.

"One of our major pulp suppliers suddenly stopped production due to a major equipment failure, and other pulp suppliers recently withdrew our normal and viable credit terms in the wake of credit and insurance developments in the industry," he wrote. "Accordingly, we are unable to secure the pulp necessary to continue operations and do not have sufficient economic resources to idle our plant pending improved conditions."

In addition to the mill in West Linn, Konen said West Linn Paper will shut down a warehouse, logistics and transportation site in Vancouver.

The riverfront mill opened in 1889 and once employed 1,600 people, making newsprint, wrapping paper and paper bags. Historians credited it with helping fuel regional publishing, and supplying paper for publications across the country.

Originally Willamette Falls Pulp and Paper Co., later owned by Crown Zellerbach, it took its current name from an investment group that acquired it in 1997. The mill once made its own pulp but shut down those grinders in 1991 and began buying pulp from suppliers in the U.S. and Canada.

Oregon's job market remains historically strong, with the statewide unemployment rate at 4.2 percent. However, several large employers including SolarWorld, Microsoft, SureID have cut jobs this year.

The state's forest products industry, meanwhile, has been in steady decline for decades. Oregon timber harvests have declined from more than 8 billion board feet in the 1970s to 4 billion board feet now, according to a new report by the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis.

The sector's employment has fallen from 80,000 direct jobs during the '70s to around 30,000. And the state report found wages have stagnated, held down by automation, competition and an abundance of workers created by the closure of other former mills and timber operations.

-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699