Swany White Flour Mills

Last updated
Swany White Flour Mills
2013-0408-FreeportRollerMillandHouse.jpg
The 1900 miller's house (left) and 2012 mill (right)
Swany White Flour Mills
Freeport Roller Mill and Miller's House
USA Minnesota location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location206–210 2nd Street SE, Freeport, Minnesota
Coordinates 45°39′43″N94°41′18″W / 45.66194°N 94.68833°W / 45.66194; -94.68833
AreaLess than one acre
Built1898 (mill), 1900 (house)
ArchitectAnthony Hoeschen
MPS Stearns County MRA
NRHP reference No. 82003043 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPApril 15, 1982
Removed from NRHPMarch 28, 2024

Swany White Flour Mills is a flour manufacturing and wholesaling company based in Freeport, Minnesota, United States. It was established in the late 19th century and has been owned by the same family since 1903. [2] On December 27, 2011, the company's historic 114-year-old mill burned down. [3] Construction on a new facility began the following summer, and Swany White Flour Mills was able to remain in business. [2]

Contents

The mill complex had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as the Freeport Roller Mill and Miller's House for its local significance in the theme of commerce. [4] In addition to the 1898 mill, which was expanded to three stories in 1912, the complex consisted of an attached brick powerhouse, the adjacent miller's house built in 1900, and a disused freestanding brick smokestack. [5] It was the last remaining 19th-century mill in use in Minnesota. [6] The miller's house and smokestack still stand, with the 2012 replacement mill between them. The property was delisted from the National Register in 2024.

History

The builder of the original mill, Anton Hoeschen, did not intend to run the mill himself. Instead he saw it as an investment in the community and hoped that he would find a buyer who wanted to be a miller. After several ownership changes in its first few years, the mill was bought in 1903 by Hubert and Peter Thelen, who ran the mill together. They chose the name Swany White for their brand of white flour to suggest that their product was as white as a swan. [6]

In the early years the business was one of a number of small mills throughout Minnesota where local farmers could sell their wheat close to home rather than having to ship it to large mills in Minneapolis. At the mill they could sell their grain outright or trade raw wheat for ground flour for their own family's use. [6]

In 1913 the Thelen brothers remodeled the mill, adding a basement and more manufacturing space. The changes made the mill more efficient, and it was able to produce twice as much flour as it had before. After Peter Thelen's retirement in 1953, his son Walter took over the mill. In 1966 he replaced the mill's original steam engine with an electric motor. [6]

While other small mills were not able to remain profitable during an era of increased consolidation and a downturn in Minnesota wheat production, Walter Thelen came up with a way to keep the mill in business by producing a slightly different product. During the 1970s he persuaded organic farmers to produce organic flour, and he made arrangements with specialty bakers in area. His strategy worked, and Swany White Flour was sold in food cooperatives and health food stores in Minnesota. He also sold flour as far away as the East Coast. [6]

In 1982 the mill was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, but it remained a working mill. In 1998, Walter's son Gary took over the family business when he bought it from his father. By that time, the Swany White Flour Mill had become a Minnesota landmark. When photographer Richard Olsenius spent time in Freeport looking for places that had inspired Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon, he photographed Gary Thelen and his mill. Members of local bread clubs would also visit to see how a century-old mill worked. [6]

Swany White Mill burned to the ground on December 27, 2011. No one was injured. [6] The fire was reported at 4:48 P.M. by an employee. It took over five surrounding fire agencies to put out the blaze. That night, people gathered to watch the local landmark burn, with many holding hands and crying. [3] Though he initially claimed that he would not rebuild the mill, Gary Thelen changed his mind, and a new Swany White mill opened in 2012. [6]

Production

Rear view of the original smokestack and replacement mill building Swany White Flour Mills.jpg
Rear view of the original smokestack and replacement mill building

For white flour, Swany White had used the same milling equipment since 1913. It had a milling capacity of about 1,000 pounds (450 kg) per hour, or 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) per business day. [7] This was a fraction of the milling capacity of most mills. It is notable that Swany White Flour had continued to operate as a small independent while most other small regional producers have either given up or sold out.[ citation needed ]

For its conventional products, the mill had a commercial presence mainly in the Upper Midwest, however its organic products were distributed more widely. [7] In addition to sales to distributors and retailers, Swany White had a retail outlet at the mill in Freeport. The mill's most popular product was a bleached flour sold under the brand name Faith's Best, which accounted for about 60% of all sales. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freeport, Minnesota</span> City in Minnesota, United States

Freeport is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 632 at the 2010 census. Freeport is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridgeton, Indiana</span> Unincorporated community in Indiana, United States

Bridgeton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Raccoon Township, Parke County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is notable for its covered bridge, which was destroyed on April 28, 2005, by a fire set by an arsonist. A historically accurate reconstruction of the bridge was completed in October, 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watson's Mill</span>

Watson's Mill is an historic flour and gristmill in Manotick, Ontario, Canada. It is the only working museum in the Ottawa area and one of the very few operating industrial grist mills in North America. Watson's Mill still sells stone-ground whole wheat flour which is made on site. The mill is also well known for its ghost Annabelle. The legend is that Ann Currier, wife of Joseph, haunts the mill, following her death in a tragic accident there in 1861. Watson's Mill is Manotick's most recognized landmark. Its image is used as a symbol for the village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Dakota Mill and Elevator</span> United States historic place

The North Dakota Mill and Elevator is the largest flour mill in the United States. It is located in the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Established by the state government when it was led by Nonpartisan League representatives, it is the only state-owned milling facility in the United States. It is overseen by the North Dakota Industrial Commission, whose members are all public officers elected by popular vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potter's Mill</span> United States historic place

Potter's Mill is a restaurant and bed and breakfast establishment located in Bellevue, Iowa. The structure was formerly a gristmill, being the oldest in the state of Iowa, and as such it has earned national recognition. Potter's Mill is on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as being named a point of interest in the Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Alfred Pillsbury</span> American industrialist (1842–1899)

Charles Alfred Pillsbury was an American businessman, flour industrialist, and politician. He was a co-founder of the Pillsbury Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phelps Mill</span> United States historic place

Phelps Mill is a flour mill in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States, on the Otter Tail River. The mill was built in 1888–1889 by William E. Thomas, a local entrepreneur who owned a flour and feed business in Fergus Falls. During that time, wheat was a high-demand crop, and nearly one thousand flour mills were in operation throughout Minnesota. Thomas began constructing a wooden dam on the river in the spring of 1888, although the dam was prone to leakage and had to be shored up with sandbags, dirt, gravel, and other materials. The mill itself was built by Royal Powers, who built and framed the mill without using blueprints. He was able to keep the entire plan within his head and did not even have to mark out the lumber he was cutting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwestern Consolidated Milling Company</span> Former American flour milling company

Northwestern Consolidated Milling Company was an American flour milling company that operated about one-quarter of the mills in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when the city was the flour milling capital of the world. Formed as a business entity, Northwestern produced flour for the half-century between 1891 and 1953, when its A Mill was converted to storage and light manufacturing. At its founding, Northwestern was the city's and the world's second-largest flour milling company after Pillsbury, with what is today General Mills a close third. The company became one of three constituents of a Minneapolis oligopoly that owned almost nine percent of the country's flour and grist production and products by 1905. This occurred as a result of their attempt at a United States monopoly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schech's Mill</span> United States historic place

Schech's Mill is a historic mill in Houston County, Minnesota, United States. It is one of three watermills in Minnesota still operating solely with water power and the only one to have its original millstones. Built by John Blinn in 1876, it was purchased by a Minneapolis miller, Michael Schech who had emigrated from Bavaria, Germany. The mill produced cornmeal, rye buckwheat, wheat flour, graham flour, and whole wheat cereal, which was sold in Caledonia and Houston, Minnesota. Schech's Mill is unique in the state for retaining intact and operable machinery from the 1870s, after the middlings purifier had been introduced but before millstones were supplanted by roller mills. In 1922, a concrete dam was built to replace the original wooden one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archibald Mill</span> United States historic place

The Archibald Mill was a water-powered gristmill complex, now reduced to ruins, on the Cannon River in Dundas, Minnesota, United States. The mill was founded in 1857 and expanded with a second mill across the river in 1870. It was the first U.S. mill to produce and market patent flour, and its "Dundas Straight" was once considered the best flour in the country. The Archibald Mill is associated with the introduction of hard spring wheat to Minnesota, and was one of the nation's first outfits to convert fully into a roller mill. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its national significance in commerce, industry, and flour milling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Stearns County, Minnesota</span>

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Stearns County, Minnesota. It is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The locations of National Register properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be seen in an online map.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mill City Museum</span> American History Museum in Minnesota, USA

Mill City Museum is located in the ruins of the Washburn "A" Mill next to Mill Ruins Park on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. The museum, an entity of the Minnesota Historical Society that opened in 2003, focuses on the founding and growth of Minneapolis, especially flour milling and the other industries that used hydropower from Saint Anthony Falls. The mill complex that the museum is within, dates from the 1870s and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also part of the St. Anthony Falls Historic District and within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward T. Archibald House</span> Historic house in Minnesota, United States

The Edward T. Archibald House is a historic farmhouse in Dundas, Minnesota, United States. The private home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on June 17, 1976. Built in the 1860s, the farmhouse is significant for its association with the prominent miller Edward T. Archibald, whose nearby Archibald Mill was an important mill in the history of Minnesota's flour milling industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faribault Woolen Mill Company</span> United States historic place

The Faribault Woolen Mill Company is a textile manufacturing company in Faribault, Minnesota, United States, that produces and sells wool blankets and other woolen products. Its products included ingeo, cotton, acrylic and wool bed blankets, pillows, mattresses, pads, and baby blankets, and wool, ingeo and blend throws. The company sells its products through its store in Faribault and nationwide through retailers.

The Esterhazy Flour Mill is located at 517 Smith-Dorrien Street, Esterhazy, Saskatchewan. Construction of the mill was started in 1904 and was completed in 1907. The current owner is the Town of Esterhazy and is run by the Friends of the Flour Mill. The Esterhazy Flour Mill is the only remaining wood-frame construction flour mill in Saskatchewan. The Provincial Heritage Property designation was announced in 2005 and on July 8, 2009, the Esterhazy Flour Mill was designated as a National Historic Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baking mix</span> Dry foodstuff used in baking

A baking mix is a mixed formulation of ingredients used for the cooking of baked goods. Baking mixes may be commercially manufactured or homemade. Baking mixes that cater to particular dietary needs, such as vegan, gluten-free, or kosher baking mixes, can be bought in many places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Staples' Sawmill</span> United States historic place

Isaac Staples' Sawmill is a historic industrial property in Stillwater, Minnesota, United States, consisting of an 1850 stone powerhouse and a 1900 metal-clad factory. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as St. Croix Lumber Mills—Stillwater Manufacturing Company in 1982 for its local significance in the theme of industry. It was nominated because the powerhouse is the only surviving industrial building associated with Isaac Staples (1816–1898), a major figure in Minnesota's early commercial development. The property now operates as a shopping mall with upper level apartments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarks Grove Cooperative Creamery</span> United States historic place

The Clarks Grove Cooperative Creamery is a historic creamery in Clarks Grove, Minnesota, United States. It was established in 1890 as one of the first cooperative creameries in Minnesota. The Clarks Grove Cooperative Creamery used new technology and a well-organized cooperative system. It became a model for the Minnesota dairy industry. Ten years later, there were more than 550 cooperative creameries in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hodgson-Aid Mill</span> United States historic place

Hodgson-Aid Mill, also known as Hodgson Water Mill and Aid-Hodgson Mill, is a historic grist mill located on Bryant Creek near Sycamore, Ozark County, Missouri. It was constructed around 1897, and is a 3+12-story, timber frame mill building covered with red-painted weatherboards. Associated with the mill are the man-made mill pond and the limestone barrel vault constructed at the base of the cliff where Hodgson Spring discharges. The mill has not been in operation since 1976. It is privately owned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Mill Disaster</span> Flour dust explosion in a Minneapolis mill in 1878

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.

References

CC BY-SA icon.svg This article incorporates text from MNopedia, which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 "About Us". Swany White Flour Mills. 2012. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  3. 1 2 Bowen, Amy; Dave Aeikens (2011-12-27). "Fire destroys iconic Freeport flour mill". St. Cloud Times. St. Cloud, Minn. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
  4. "Freeport Roller Mill and Miller's House". Minnesota National Register Properties Database. Minnesota Historical Society. 2009. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  5. Harvey, Thomas (October 1980). "Minnesota Historic Properties Inventory Form: Swany White Flour Mill & Miller's House". National Park Service. Retrieved 2018-06-05. With two accompanying photographs from 1977
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Weber, Eric W. (2018-01-10). "Swany White Flour Mill". MNopedia. Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  7. 1 2 3 Mergian, Gwen. "Focus on Coop Suppliers: Swany White Flour". Honest Weight Food Coop. Archived from the original on 2006-09-23.