National Historic Landmark - The Pillsbury A-Mill
The Pillsbury A Mill, built of Platteville limestone, was the world’s largest flour mill when it was completed in 1881. The design by LeRoy S. Buffington is considered a classic of industrial architecture, and the interior of the mill boasted state-of-art technology. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. The mill originally produced 5,000 barrels of flour per day, a capacity that was later increased to more than 17,000 barrels. Pillsbury’s Best Flour is still sold around the world.
The company rewarded its skilled workers in ways that were years ahead of the practice in other industries. In 1883 it established an employee profit-sharing plan. Unions representing most mill employees negotiated an eight hour day in 1902.
When Charles A. Pillsbury opened the A mill in 1881, machinery was driven directly by water entering the mill through a 400-foot canal from the river. Closed off in the 1950s, the canal still exists beneath Main Street. The tailraces through which its water emptied can be seen below the river’s bank. In the 1880s four flour mills stood along Main Street, but the milling district here never rivaled that on the west bank.
While the other mills are no longer standing, the Pillsbury company still operates a large complex of buildings here. The sound of milling can still be heard coming from the South A Mill. Trucks and trains deliver grain for processing. The elevators hold more than three million bushels of grain. New food products are developed in nearby research facilities.
