The thread about Chicago area bakeries prompts me to ask about the flour milling district in Minneapolis.What happened to Pillsbury and the other millers/ What’s left in the area and what railroads served what mills then and now? Thanks.
Have a good one.
Bill B
The Soo Line hauled flour and other milled products.
A General Mills Mill was located beside the Soo Line Tracks.
To the best of my knowledge there are no Flour mills left in Minneapolis, and only one in the suburban Twin Cities. Con-Agra has a Flour Mill in Hastings, MN served by the Soo Line(CP). The Flour Mill row in Minneapolis was served by all four big Minneapolis railroads, the trackage on the backside of the mills was kind of intricate, NP, Railway Transfer, GN, and CMStP&O all had access. Other mills in Minnesota are owned by Horizon Milling(a joint venture of Cargill and Cenex Harvest States Coop) and are located at Mankato (UP), Lake City (Soo Line), and Rush City (BNSF via the SCVR).
What is needed to understand the Flour Mills in Minneapolis and St. Paul are maps which are a comparison of two different years like 1966 and 2006, similar to the maps in many issues of TRAINS.
Andrew
Take a look at Don Hoffsomer’s Minneapolis and the Age of Railways. Here is a link to more info at Karen’s Books.
http://www.karensbooks.com/cgi-bin/shop/karenscart.cgi?func=buildProduct&product=4200&back=javascript:history.go(-1)
The main railroad serving the mill district was the Minneapolis & St.Louis RR. Some of the buildings still remain, one was made into a museum, another (the one with the big restored Ceresota sign) was converted to either offices or condo’s (can’t remember which). I know there was some talk about a “Mill Ruins Park” but not sure if it actually happened…one of the bigger mills burned a few years ago and is pretty much gutted but still standing.
Mpls. milling fame came from it’s location, being located on St.Anthony falls it had power to run the grindwheels cheaply, and it was within easy reach of the then quickly expanding rail lines heading into the wheat growing lands of Minnesota and the Dakotas.
Milling District or Mill City are the search terms to use to find more information about the Minneapolis Milling District on Google.
There is a Mill City Museum all about the grain milling district on the river.
Cerasota and General Mills mill structures were the most prominent of the many structures in the district.
Andrew
Minneapolis is the “Mill City” because of its ideal provision of waterpower. That interest went on to create the Minneapolis & St. Louis RR in order to secure better transportation rates for their milled products than the rates of the other railroads. That was the original pupose of the M&StL.
Click on this link to see some very old photos of the Milling District.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/106wheat/106visual1.htm
It is one of many sites about the Minneapolis Milling District.
Andrew
The Minnesota Historical Society runs the Mill City Museum.
www.mnhs.org is the web address of the Minnesota Historical Society.
Andrew
Pillsbury got out of the milling business in the 90’s. Cargill, now Horizon Milling, took over a large share of Pillsbury, ADM runs a few others.