Sign-In
Cart
Making Mill City: Flour and Fortune in Minneapolis
Hardcover
Business GeneralAgricultureRegional: Midwest
Publisher Price: $39.95
ISBN13: 9780816667604
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
Published: Apr 7 2026
Pages: 376
Weight: 2.55
Height: 1.30 Width: 8.70 Depth: 10.60
Language: English
A richly illustrated history of the flour factories that transformed the milling industry worldwide--and forever changed the culture and architecture of Minneapolis
Among the most consequential advances of the Industrial Revolution was the invention of the modern roller mill, which sent the traditional millstone into obsolescence and fundamentally changed the production of a key ingredient to feeding the world. The culture and landscape of its hometown, Minneapolis, Minnesota, was altered as well, and Making Mill City tells the story of how revolutionary technologies originating at St. Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River put Minneapolis on the map and cemented its global status as Mill City.With deep historical detail and abundant illustrations, Robert M. Frame III charts the dramatic transformation of Minneapolis milling--and urban life--between the early 1870s and 1920s. Two machines propelled this change: the middlings purifier and the modern roller mill. Enabling millers to grind hard Upper Midwestern spring wheat, these innovations gave rise to the mammoth mills and ever-expanding flour factories that would soon dominate the Minneapolis riverfront. Prominent entrepreneurs like those who gave their names to the Washburn and Pillsbury A Mills were significant, but Frame foregrounds the crucial roles of the millers, millwrights, and engineers who designed and equipped the massive new factories, as well as the editor of the legendary weekly trade publication Northwestern Miller, to paint a picture of the vibrant and diverse culture that grew around this industrial phenomenon.
A rich narrative describing how Minneapolis became the largest producer and exporter of wheat flour for more than fifty years, Making Mill City captures a critical chapter in the history of the city. Art and architecture inspired by mills and millers stand today as National Historic Landmarks, and the development and success of the current thriving metropolis have strong foundations in its milling history.
Also in
Regional: Midwest
Twin Cities by Trolley: The Streetcar Era in Minneapolis and St. Paul
Diers, John W.
Isaacs, Aaron
Hardcover
Lake Minnetonka
Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka Historical Society
Wayzata Historical Society
Westonka Historical Society
Paperback
Scandinavians in the State House: How Nordic Immigrants Shaped Minnesota Politics
Bergman, Klas
Paperback
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
Larson, Erik
Paperback
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
Egan, Timothy
Paperback
The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West
McCullough, David
Paperback
Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin, and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie
Marcotty, Josephine
Hage, Dave
Hardcover
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Larson, Erik
Hardcover
Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District
Johnson, Hannibal B.
Paperback
Spooky Michigan: Tales of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Other Local Lore
Schlosser, S. E.
Paperback
Shadow of the Bridge: The Delphi Murders and the Dark Side of the American Heartland
Cain, Áine
Greenlee, Kevin
Hardcover
Heart of American Darkness: A Story of Murder and Revolution on the Early Frontier
Parkinson, Robert G.
Paperback
The Dawn of Detroit: A Chronicle of Slavery and Freedom in the City of the Straits
Miles, Tiya
Paperback
White Pines and Stone: The Hunt for the Springfield Three
Whitcomb, Christopher
McDermott, Dylan
Hardcover
The Great Black Swamp: Toxic Algae, Toxic Relationships, and the Most Interesting Place in America That Nobody's Ever Heard of
Wensink, Patrick
Paperback
Wrecked: The Edmund Fitzgerald and the Sinking of the American Economy
Podair, Jerald
Nelson, Thomas M.
Paperback
The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States
Johnson, Walter
Paperback
Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the Bombing That Divided Gilded Age America
Green, James
Paperback
What's the Deal with Dead Man's Curve?: And Other Really Good Questions about Cleveland
Sweeney, Jim
Paperback
One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season
Ballard, Chris
Paperback
Brooding Upon the Waters: A Memoir of Farming, Fishing, and Failure in America's Lost Landscape
Schaap, Howard
Paperback
Wilder Weather: What Laura Ingalls Wilder Teaches Us about the Weather, Climate, and Protecting What We Cherish
Boustead, Barbara
Paperback
The Containment: Detroit, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for Racial Justice in the North
Adams, Michelle
Hardcover
Lake Michigan Gales & Tales: Vanishing Ships, Tragic Wrecks, and Historic Rescues
Passwater, Michael
Paperback
The Containment: Detroit, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for Racial Justice in the North
Adams, Michelle
Paperback
It Happened in Nebraska: Stories of Events and People That Shaped Cornhusker State History
Partsch, Tammy
Paperback
The Maid and the Socialite: The Brave Women Behind Green Bay's Scandalous Minahan Trials
Drews, Lynda
Paperback
Girl Without a Country: The Untold Story of a Landmark Fight for U.S. Citizenship
Ramseyer, Rick
Paperback
Shipwrecks and Lost Treasures: Great Lakes: Legends And Lore, Pirates And More!
Varhola, Michael
Paperback
Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West
Clavin, Tom
Paperback
Chicago's Great Fire: The Destruction and Resurrection of an Iconic American City
Smith, Carl
Paperback
Daniel Burnham and Louis Sullivan: Personal Histories of Two Icons of American Architecture
Thoreson, Trygve
Paperback
The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago
Perry, Douglas
Paperback
The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit - Updated Edition
Sugrue, Thomas J.
Paperback
A Keg of Their Best: Brewing in the Beer State Capital--From the Beer Baron Era to Modern Microbrews
Shepard, Robin
Paperback
The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker
Cramer, Katherine J.
Paperback
Fishes of the Chicago Region: A Field Guide
Pescitelli, Stephen M.
Willink, Philip W.
Veraldi, Francis M.
Paperback
Glory Days in Tribe Town: The Cleveland Indians and Jacobs Field 1994-1997
Hamilton, Tom
Pluto, Terry
Paperback
Vintage Cavs: A Warm Look Back at the Cavaliers of the Cleveland Arena and Richfield Coliseum Years
Pluto, Terry
Paperback
It Happened in Michigan: Stories of Events and People That Shaped Great Lakes State History
Burcar, Colleen
Paperback
The Lions Finally Roar: The Detroit Lions and the Road to Redemption in the NFL
Morris, Bill
Paperback
When Democrats Won the Heartland: Progressive Populism in the Age of Reagan, 1978-1992
Haala, Cory
Paperback
The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West
McCullough, David
Hardcover
Evanston Speaks: Oral Histories of Transformation and Triumph from a Progressive City
Hurtig, Elliott
Hardcover
The Nastiest Saloon in Iowa: Murder, Prostitution, and Corruption in the Heartland
Donovan, Rose M.
Donovan, David P.
Paperback
Murder at Minnesota Point: Unraveling the Captivating Mystery of a Long-Forgotten True Crime
Sauve, Jeffrey M.
Paperback
Retracing the Dragoon Trail in Iowa: Environmental Transformation Along the Des Moines River
Mason, Kevin T.
Paperback
Spooky Wisconsin: Tales of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Other Local Lore
Schlosser, S. E.
Paperback
Spooky Great Lakes: Tales of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Other Local Lore
Schlosser, S. E.
Paperback
We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy by Paul Johnson
Johnson, Paul
Paperback
Lumberjack: Inside an Era in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan - 70th Anniversary Edition
Crowe, William S.
Paperback
We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy
Nesteroff, Kliph
Paperback
City of Champions: A History of Triumph and Defeat in Detroit
Szymanski, Stefan
Weineck, Silke-Maria
Hardcover
Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul
Abbott, Karen
Paperback
Spooky Indiana: Tales Of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, And Other Local Lore, First Edition
Hoffman, Paul G.
Schlosser, S. E.
Paperback
Crime & Corruption on the Michigan Railroad: Stories from the Victorian Era
Delaware, Michael
Paperback
Cincinnati Curiosities: Healing Powers of the Wamsley Madstone, Nocturnal Exploits of Old Man Dead, Mazeppa's Naked Ride & More
Hand, Gregory L.
Paperback