The shortrun (1962-1966) economic impact of a tissue paper mill in Pickens, Mississippi, a town of under 1,000 in a depressed rural area with a predominance of poor Negroes, was analyzed. The tissue mill began in a building formerly occupied by a North Carolina furniture manufacturer. Initial financing came from the Area Redevelopment Administration, local and State organizations, and private industry. Failure of the operation was attributed to lack of skilled employees, frequent breakdowns of secondhand machinery, variability in the quality of wet pulp, and an inadequately developed market. After foreclosure by the Small Business Administration, the plant was leased to another company to produce carbonizing paper. Finding solutions to Picken's problems and those of other depressed areas will require continuing systematic efforts at Federal, State, and local levels. (Author/PS)