Minnesota’s first grains of wheat sprouted in the southeastern part of the state, but the epicenter of production soon shifted to the Red River Valley in the northwestern part of the state. Minnesota produced its first wheat in 1820. But because…

In 1915, flour production in Minneapolis peaked at about two million barrels. From there, the mills started a slow descent from world leadership to only a memory of their former glory. In 1880, Minneapolis was known as the “Flour Milling Capital of…

St. Anthony Falls and the area surrounding it became the milling capital of Minnesota in the second half of the 19th century. The mills, for both lumber and flour, were built alongside the falls to capitalize the power that the rushing water…

The mills of Minneapolis had a humble beginning, but they soon emerged as a world-renowned flour powerhouse. On their path to fame, the mills struggled to tame St. Anthony Falls and to mill and market the coarser varieties of spring wheat that grew…