Combine that with the power of the Mississippi and many railroad lines, Minneapolis became the Flour Milling Capital of
the World.
The Mill City Museum is built into the ruins of what was once the world’s largest flour mill, Washburn A. Mill. Flour dust is highly explosive and the first mill was leveled by a fire that claimed 18 lives.
Rebuilt by 1880 with safer state-of-the-art machinery, it could produce enough flour in a day, to make 12 million loaves.
Technological advances and changing consumerism lead to its shut down in 1965 and then destroyed again by fire in 1991.
Constructed in the ruins of this historic mill, the museum gives you a history lesson on the milling industry that propelled Minneapolis into prosperity in the 1800s.
Lots of interact learning devices for children and storyboards for adults. There’s a 10 minute seated elevator ride that shows you three dimensional stories about the mill, invoking the atmosphere and experiences of times long gone.
