Loudonville, Ohio is positioned along the Black Fork River, which makes it an ideal location for a mill. Although names, ownership, and even buildings have changed over the years, there has been a mill operating in the same spot in town since 1818.
In 1818, Alex Skinner built the first mill along the Black Fork River in Loudonville. The mill flourished, and in 1861 it was acquired by Augustus Taylor, who expanded the business and doubled production capacity. Taylor hired a man named Jacob Stitzel, who discovered a way to produce a high grade of flour. His "patent flour" was made using a burr grinder, a process that remained a mystery to many other millers until the introduction of roller mills revolutionized the industry. In 1876, Stitzel oversaw a display of patent flour at the Philadelphia Centennial. Eventually, his flour became the national standard, and it continues to be the main form of flour used in the United States. [1]
After Taylor's death, the Northwestern Milling and Elevator Company (as it was then known) hired H.J. BeBout to modernize the facilities. BeBout increased production to 350 barrels per day and storage capacity to over 65,000 bushels before leading a group of local investors to purchase the mill. A 1913 flood heavily damaged the mill, but BeBout remodeled it in 1914 and 1916, doubling the production and storage capability. [2]
The mill was the largest and most modern in the state until November 1922, when a fire destroyed everything except the cement storage units. Because the loss was only partly covered by insurance, about 50 men lost their jobs in the aftermath of the fire. H.J. BeBout immediately set about building a new, bigger, even more modern mill, which successfully operated for many years under the title Loudonville Milling Company. [2] In 1947, the mill was purchased by Standard Milling Company. In the 1980s it was sold to Sunshine Biscuit Company and then to ConAgra Mills, under which management it continues to operate today. [1]
Loudonville is a village in Ashland and Holmes counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 2,786 at the 2020 census. Loudonville is nicknamed the "Canoe Capital of Ohio" for the many canoe liveries along the Mohican River. It is also home to Mohican State Park and Mohican-Memorial State Forest.
A forklift is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th century by various companies, including Clark, which made transmissions, and Yale & Towne Manufacturing, which made hoists.
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ContiGroup Companies, Inc (CGC) was founded by Simon Fribourg in Arlon, Belgium, in 1813 as a grain-trading firm. Formerly known as Continental Grain, ContiGroup has expanded into a multinational corporation with offices and facilities in 10 countries while employing more than 13,500 people worldwide. Today, CGC is one of the largest privately held corporations in the United States.
Kaiser Aluminum Corporation is an American aluminum producer. It is a spinoff from Kaiser Aluminum and Chemicals Corporation, which came to be when common stock was offered in Permanente Metals Corporation and Permanente Metals Corporation's name was changed to Kaiser Aluminum and Chemicals Corporation.
Charles Alfred Pillsbury was an American businessman, flour industrialist, and politician. He was a co-founder of the Pillsbury Company.
A Hoosier cabinet or Hoosier is a type of cupboard or free-standing kitchen cabinet that also serves as a workstation. It was popular in the first few decades of the 20th century in the United States, since most houses did not have built-in kitchen cabinetry. The Hoosier Manufacturing Co. of New Castle, Indiana, was one of the earliest and largest manufacturers of this product, causing the term "Hoosier cabinet" to become a generic term for that type of furniture. By 1920, the Hoosier Manufacturing Company had sold two million cabinets.
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Riddings is a large village in Derbyshire, England. The appropriate ward of the Amber Valley Council is called Ironville and Riddings. The population of this ward as at the 2011 census was 5,821. It is located 2 miles (3 km) south of Alfreton near the hamlet of Golden Valley. The name derives from Ryddynges, a clearing or riding in a wood. This was the ancient forest known as Alfreton Grove within the manor of Alfreton. The settlement goes back at least to the 12th century, when Hugh de Ryddynges received half of the manor of Riddings and half of Watnall from his relative Ralf Ingram of Alfreton.
The Sheridan Flouring Mills, is an industrial complex in Sheridan, Wyoming. The mills were a major component of the economy of north central Wyoming, providing collection, storage and milling of locally produced wheat and other grains into flour and other milled products. The mill was established by Captain Scott W. Snively in the early 1890s. The Sheridan Milling and Manufacturing Company was sold to J.W. Denio in 1903, who operated the mill on Broadway Avenue near downtown Sheridan. A catastrophic fire destroyed that mill in 1919, resulting in the purchase of a new location on Coffeen Avenue and construction of a much larger mill.
The Great Lakes Paper Company was the operator of the largest and most modern pulp and paper manufacturing facility in the world. The Company employed over 4,000 in Northern Ontario, starting in 1924 as a pulp mill at Fort William, Ontario. Great Lakes had a highly developed social network within the company, including a children's Christmas party held at a local arena, and an annual picnic held at a local park, as well as many sports teams and other social groups. The company's working environment was enhanced by cultural diversity. For example under the Government of Canada's immigration policy, the "Close Relatives Scheme" resulted in over 400 Ukrainian refugees being employed as workers after World War II.
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The Cortright- H. Van Patten Co. Mill was a grist mill located at 109 Byron Street in Homer, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It was destroyed by fire on May 17, 2010.
The Great Mill Disaster, also known as the Washburn A Mill explosion, occurred on May 2, 1878, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The disaster resulted in 18 deaths. The explosion occurred on a Thursday evening when an accumulation of flour dust inside the Washburn A Mill, the largest mill in the world at the time, led to a dust explosion that killed the fourteen workers inside the mill. The resulting fire destroyed several nearby mills and killed a further four millworkers. The destruction seriously impacted the city's productive capacity for flour, which was a major industry in the city. Following the blast, Cadwallader C. Washburn, the mill's owner, had a new mill, designed by William de la Barre, constructed on the site of the old one. This building was also later destroyed, and today the building's ruins are a National Historic Landmark and operated as part of the Mill City Museum.